Namikaze Naruto (Discontinued)
by The Eternal Fable
Summary: This story is in the process of being rewritten and will be posted again under the same name once it is ready.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! For anyone who is confused, I sort of condensed the story by putting a lot of the chapters together. There isn't anything really different besides one sentence I added to make it flow a bit better. I did this so it's easier to read than before.

 **xxx**

 **Years ago, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village of Konoha. It's mighty tails could crumble mountains and cause tsunamis. To fight the kyuubi all the shinobi from the village came to fight it. One brave shinobi was able to seal the fox away at the cost of his own life. This shinobi was the Sandaime Hokage.**

xxx

Kakashi stared up at the door before him, or more specifically, the chalkboard eraser trapped in it. He could hear the quiet whispering of the graduates on the otherside. Did they really believe that a Jounin would fall for such a trick? He sighed and shook his head. This was going to be a long day. He reached up to grab it before opening the door.

"Dammit!" the blonde genin moaned in disappointment.

"I'm sorry! I tried to stop him!" the girl said.

"I'm sure Kakashi has seen enough of your pranks to see though them a mile away," the raven-haired boy scoffed.

"What a surprise to see you, Naruto-kun," Kakashi said.

"Riiight," Sasuke said.

Naruto shook his head. He had known the boy since he was in diapers and somehow he had failed to change at all in thirteen years. He had hoped that when he befriended the Uchiha not long after joining the academy the boy would be a calming influence. Alas, his hopes were shattered when Naruto seemed to corrupt Sasuke. The girl- Sakura was her name- Kakashi didn't know much about. She scored high on all the intellectual tests, but barely passed the physical. How this poor girl ended up on a team with these two, he had no clue.

"What next? We gonna get our first mission?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"No, we are going on a pleasant walk through the flower fields," Sasuke said.

"Oh, god no! Onibaa-san would have our heads if she catches us there again, dattebayo!" Naruto groaned.

"Will you two grow up? Today is an important day!" Sakura scolded.

Sasuke stuck his tongue out at the girl, who rolled her eyes,

What did he get himself into?

xxx

"Well, let's begin with introducing ourselves," Kakashi said.

"Eh? But we already know each other, 'ttebayo!" Naruto complained.

"That's not entirely true. I have just met Sakura," Kakashi pointed out.

"No one cares about Sakura," Sasuke and Naruto said.

"Shut up, you morons!" Sakura snapped.

"You are going to do it because I said so," Kakashi said firmly. "Start with your names, likes, dislikes and your dreams, maybe your hobbies.."

"Then you start 'ttebayo!" Naruto said.

"Fine. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes.. My dreams for the future… my hobbies… I have a lot of hobbies…"

"Translated: My likes and dislikes are too embarrassing and perverted to share, my hobbies are reading erotic books written by the Sage of Perverts himself and my dream is to one day stop being a closet pervert!" Naruto said. Sakura gaped at him while Sasuke chuckled.

"Thank you for volunteering, Naruto," Kakashi said. Naruto rolled his eyes and smiled proudly.

"My name is Namikaze Naruto. I like Ramen. I don't like having to wait for my ramen. My hobbies are pranking people. My dream," Naruto sat up straighter, "is to become Hokage and to surpass my predecessors!"

"Do you even know what that word means-ow!" Sakura looked around and tried to find the source of the bump on the back of her head, but all she saw was Uchiha Sasuke trying to act as innocent as possible.

"Next, please," Kakashi sighed.

"Haruno Sakura," Sakura said as she rubbed the back of her head. "I like sweets" Sasuke gagged "my hobbies are studying mostly. I don't like annoying boys" Naruto stuck his tongue out at her and Sasuke rolled his eyes "my dream is to become Konoha's strongest kunoichi."

Sakura was surprised when neither boy had something to say to that.

"Your turn."

"U-chi-ha Sa-su-ke," Sasuke punctuated every syllable in a way that irritated Sakura. "My likes… ahhh… I guess… my friends maybe? Yeah, I think I might like them. Just a bit."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love you too," Naruto said.

"My dislikes, that's easy. I don't like sweets. Or nerds. I definitely don't like pink. My hobbies include staring at random strangers until they freak out or have a nervous breakdown."

"Or they beat the crap outta you," Naruto snickered as he remembered one such event.

"My dreams… I don't really have one."

"Lame," Naruto called out.

"Well, that's enough of that," Kakashi said. "We will start our shinobi duties tomorrow."

"What kind of duties?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"We are going to do something with just the four of us."

"Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit!"

"Calm down, you hyper chihuahua!" Sasuke chuckled.

"Survival training."

"...eh?"

"Why training? Didn't we get enough training at the academy?" Sakura asked,

"This is not normal training. I will be your opponent," Kakashi said. Kakashi couldn't help but laugh at the look on their faces.

"What's so funny?" Sakura demanded.

"You are going to freak out…" Kakashi said between laughs. "Of the 27 graduates, only 9 will be chosen to become shinobi. The rest will be sent back to the academy."

The three stared at him in shock.

"Hahaha told you you'd freak out!"

"What? Why? We worked so hard!"  
"Why have a final exam then?" Sakura asked.

"That was to choose those who had a chance at becoming genin. Bring all your shinobi tools. And don't eat breakfast, or you'll throw up. Take these," Kakashi handed all three of them a sheet of paper before disappearing. Naruto groaned and laid back onto the stairs.

Sakura left, grumbling to herself.

"Well," Sasuke moved to rest his head on Naruto's stomach. He began reading the paper Kakashi had left. "That was unexpected."

"Yeah. Right."

"I might have heard something about it…" Sasuke confessed.

"And you didn't tell me about it? Some best friend you are," Naruto growled.

"And miss out on your reaction? You should have seen the look on your face!" Sasuke laughed. "Consider it revenge for the other day."

"Teme."

"Dobe. We should probably head home."

"Ichiraku?" Naruto offered.

"Meh. You're paying."

"Yeeaahh no. Teuchi said he's treating us tonight for graduating."

"Beat you there."

"Try it, dattebayo!"


	2. Chapter 2

"You're late!"

The three agree cries filled Kakashi's ears made him cringe. He shook his head and pulled the alarm clock from his bag and placed it on a nearby stump.

"This is set for noon," Kakashi said. He showed them the two bells in his hand. "You have until then to get the bells. Those who don't a bell will be tied to a log and will not get lunch. I might even eat in front of you… Oh, and the one who doesn't get a bell will be sent back to the academy."

"Sadistic bastard," Sasuke grumbled. Sasuke knew better than to believe that. They had to be a four man team: one jounin and three genin. That last part had to be complete bull he made up to get them riled up.

"You can use any weapon you want. You won't win if you don't come at me with the intent to kill."

"Hey, isn't that dangerous?" Sakura asked.

"We're shinobi, what did you expect? Baka." Sakura glared at Sasuke who was unaffected.

"Well, don't blame us if your ass ends up in the hospital!" Naruto exclaimed.

"The dog with the loudest bark usually has no bite. Now, ignoring dead last here…"

Sasuke groaned the moment he saw the look on Naruto's face. He moved to stop him, but his friend already had the kunai in his hand and was aimed the throw it. Before they knew it, Kakashi was behind Naruto, one hand planted firmly on his head and the other holding the hand with the kunai to the back of his neck.

Naruto smirked slightly. As expected of the Yondaime's former pupil.

"Well it seems you're finally ready to come at me with the intent to kill. So you've finally acknowledged me?" Sasuke eyed the jounin warily as he spoke. He wouldn't dare actually hurt Naruto, right? "I think I'm beginning to like you. Ready? Begin!"

The three genin dispersed. Sasuke hid himself up in a tree. He could see Sakura hiding under a bush. Where was…?

"Yo, teme."

"Baka! What are you doing?" Sasuke hissed.

"I have an idea," Naruto whispered.

xxx

"I challenge you to a fight!" Naruto announced.

"You're a bit off…"

Naruto charged at the Jounin, but stopped when he reached into his pouch. Naruto's face changed from wary to incredulous as he realized what Kakashi had just pulled out of his pocket.

"Seriously? You're going to read that crap now?" Naruto asked.

"Oh don't worry about it. Just go back to what you were doing," Kakashi said absentmindedly.

"That's it!" Naruto formed a familiar cross seal with his hands.

 _ **Kage Bushin no Jutsu!**_

Sakura gasped when eight more Narutos appeared out of no where. She thought Naruto couldn't use the Bushin no jutsu! But these were different. It was as though they had an actual physical body. But wasn't the bushin no jutsu an illusion? The Narutos charged at Kakashi. Kakashi shook his head.

"As impressive as it is for someone at your level to use this technique, there's no way it will work on me-"

Kakashi was cut off when he felt a pair of arms grab him from behind.

"You should watch your surroundings a bit more," Sasuke smirked.

"Hmm," Kakashi smirked a bit. He should have known Sasuke would have Naruto's back. It was hard to find one without the other.

"You're mine!" Naruto shouted as his fist landed right on one of his clones' face.

"Eh?"

xxx

"What did you do, teme?" Naruto snapped at his friend.

"It's not my fault!" Sasuke said as he let go of the bushin.

"I know! You're really Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto accused the bushin.

"No, you idiot, he used a kawarimi! This is one of the most basic techniques they teach at the academy," Sasuke said.

Naruto cursed under his breath as he released his bushin.

"If it was so basic, why did you let him get away?" Naruto snapped.

"Me? What about you?"

"You were holding him!"

"You were the moron who punched his own clone!"

"Why I outta-"

Ultimately, it was Sasuke who threw the first punch. Within seconds, the two boys were wrestling on the ground and kicking up enough dirt to make it hard for Sakura to see what was going on anymore. Seriously, the two could never seem to decide if they were friends or enemies. If they weren't goofing off and messing with people, they were at each other's throat.

 _Almost like brothers,_ she thought.

"Hey!" Naruto stopped suddenly which caused Sasuke's punch to miss and for the Uchiha to fall forward and land on his face.

"What?" Sasuke snapped as he sat up and dusted off his face.

"Kakashi dropped a bell!" Naruto said. Sasuke watched confused as Naruto went to pick up the bell under the tree. Wait…

"Naruto, stop! It's a tra-"

"AHHHH!"

Sasuke winced as the ropes caught Naruto's legs and Naruto was swung upside down into the air. Naruto cursed as he swung around on the rope. Sasuke sighed as he got to his feet Sasuke started to approach the trapped boy but hesitated. He looked over to where something caught his eye.

"What are you waiting for?" Naruto snapped. "Get me down!"  
"Yeah I'll be right back," Sasuke said before darting into the trees.

"Hey! Get back here, teeemeee!" Naruto yelled as he swung around on the rope.

"Think before using a jutsu, or it could be used against you."

"Ack!" Naruto didn't even notice Kakashi coming up from behind him until he had bent down to pick up the bell.

"And don't fall for such an obvious trap, baka," Kakashi said as he held the bell in front of Naruto teasingly. Naruto tried to grab it, but Kakashi was too quick for him.

"A shinobi must be able to see what's beneath the underneath," Kakashi said.

"I know that!"

"I'm telling you because you don't know-"

Naruto screamed as a several kunai and shuriken hit Kakashi from the side. Sakura gasped in horror.

"Teme! You went too far!" Naruto screamed. Sakura couldn't help but sigh in relief when she saw the kawarimi.

 _Those shuriken were Sasuke's but they almost looked like they came from my direction,_ Sakura thought. _Dammit!_

Sasuke watched from a distance as Sakura took off. It took her long enough to notice. He waited until he was sure the coast was clear before coming out. Naruto was bent in half, trying to cut the rope.

"That's not going to work, dobe," Sasuke told him.

"Watch me, teme-got it!"

Naruto dropped to the ground with a triumphant grin only to be launched back in the air again as another rope snapped around his ankle.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto screamed.

"I told you," Sasuke said in singsong.

"Shut up and get me down!"

"Nah, I think I'll just hang out a bit, watch the clouds maybe."

"When I get down- hey! There are lunches over there!" Naruto called.

"So wh- no. No no no no no," Sasuke said.

"Oh, come on, he said to look beneath the underneath!" Naruto said.

"I doubt cheating is what he meant," Sasuke said.

"Oh, come on! I know you've got bird-butt hair, but I didn't think you were actually a chicken!" Naruto called.

"Wh-what I-I-I I'm not-!" Sasuke sputtered.

"Than come on! Get me down!" Naruto said.

Sasuke sighed as he pulled a kunai from his pouch. They heard Sakura's scream off in the distance.

"This is such a bad idea," Sasuke muttered.


	3. Chapter 3

"I told you that was a bad idea," Sasuke growled.

"Oh, shut up! Chicken-butt," Naruto grumbled.

"Alrighty everyone, since Sasuke and Naruto decided to try and cheat to get the lunches, only Sakura will be getting any food today," Kakashi said. The two boys struggled against the ropes tying them to the tree. "You guys look like you're hungry. Oh, and about the training, there's no need for you guys to go back to the academy."

"Really? Then the three of us-"

"Yeah, the three of you should quit being shinobi," Kakashi said.

"Quit being shinobi? What's that supposed to mean 'ttebayo!" Naruto screamed. "So we didn't get the bells, but why do we have to quit?"

"Because you are all punks who don't deserve to be shinobi," Kakashi said.

"Are you to say that again, you stupid scarecrow!" Sasuke snapped.

"Are you guys underestimating shinobi?" Kakashi practically growled. "Why do you think you were put into teams and given this training mission?"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"You do not understand the answer to this test," Kakashi said.

"Answer? What answer?" Sakura demanded.

"The answer that will help you pass this test."

"Are you going to tell us or what?" Sasuke snapped.

"Teamwork."

The three blinked.

"If you had all worked together, you would have gotten the bells," Kakashi said.

"But there are only two bells!" Sakura protested. "No matter what, one of us would fail!"

"Of course! It was set up to make you fight amongst yourselves," Kakashi explained. "It was designed to see if you would be able to set aside your own interests and work together as a team. Naruto and Sasuke tried, but you just ended up fighting each other and completely ignored Sakura. Even if you did manage to get the bells, you would have left Sakura out to dry. Plus Sasuke used Sakura to draw attention away from himself to get to Naruto! Not that Sakura seemed very keen on helping either of you anyway."

The three looked away, ashamed.

"Being a part of the team does you no good if you exclude part of it. What would you do if Naruto and Sasuke were to be off trying to protect each other and the enemy got a hold of Sakura? Or what if you two started to fight amongst yourselves and the enemy managed to sneak up on you? One of you could be dead- or worse."

Kakashi walked over to a stone near the logs. He looked down at the names carved onto the stone and focused in on one name in particular.

"Do you see the names carved on this stone? These are the names of heroes who have been recognized as heroes of the village," Kakashi said.

"I already know about that dattebayo," Naruto mumbled.

"Then you know that the names written on this stone are all heroes who died on the line of duty," Kakashi said.

"This is a memorial. My best friend's name is also on here and so is your mother's, Naruto," Kakashi said. Naruto looked over to where he knew the name Uzumaki Kushina was written.

 _Naruto's mother?_ Sakura thought. She was caught off guard by Naruto's expression. She's never seen such a sad look on his face before.

"I'll give you guys one more chance but after lunch. It will be even tougher to get the bells. Sakura, if you want to challenge me again, you may eat. But don't give any to the boys. That is their punishment for trying to eat on their own. If you give them any, you will fail," Kakashi glared at her. "I am the rule here, got that?"

With that, Kakashi left.

xxx

"This is your fault!"

"My fault?"

"It was your idea to try to steal the lunches!"

"It's not like you tried to stop me, dattebayo!"

"I told you it was a bad idea!"

"Will you two shut up!" Sakura finally snapped. The two boys were fighting from their logs, their feet pressed together in some contest of strength.

"You shut up! You're the only one who fainted, ttebayo!" Naruto snapped.

"And I'm the only one not tied to log!" Sakura pointed out.

"Only because you fainted!"

"That has nothing to do with it, you idiot!"

"Don't call Naruto an idiot!" Sasuke snapped. He turned his focus back to Naruto. "This is still your fault, idiot!"

"What is it with you two!" Sakura screamed. "Are you friends or not?"

"This- as far as I'm concerned- is my very annoying younger brother whom I would very much like to kill at the moment!" Sasuke declared angrily.

"Why do I have to be the younger one, dattebayo!"

"Because you are younger, stupid!"

"We should act on our own again," Sasuke said, still fighting with Naruto. "Or at least pretend to."

"Eh?" Sakura was confused.

"We can make a big show of Naruto and I excluding you from the plan and have you storm off in a huff. Than while we distract him, you can try to sneak up and steal the bells. Hopefully he won't be expecting that," Sasuke said.

"Yeah, then you can keep one and give the other to Sasuke," Naruto said.

"What? No! You'll get the other bell!"

"Oh, hell no! You two get the bells!"

"Why?"

"Because I said so! Besides, it's your plan, dattebayo!"

The two became so wrapped up in their argument that they didn't notice Sakura pick up the second lunch from where Kakashi had left it next to the memorial stone. She unwrapped it and used the chopsticks to pick up some of the rice and shove it in Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke nearly choked.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"You two won't be any use without food," Sakura said. "Kakashi isn't here right now. It's not like he'll know."

Sakura gave the next bite to Naruto who ate it with a grimace.

"Ew… Sasuke cooties," he said after swallowing.

"Seriously?" Sakura glared at him.

"Thank you, Sakura!" Naruto grinned.

"Hn," was all Sasuke said.

"YOU THREE!"

Sakura shrieked as a cloud appeared out of no where, announcing the arrival of the jounin. The three braced themselves, preparing for the worse.

"...pass!"

Eh?

"What? Why?" Sakura was confused.

"You three were the first. The others just followed my orders like mindless puppets. They were morons," Kakashi shook his head. "The who break the codes of the shinobi world are trash but you know what? Those who abandon their comrades are lower than trash."

"He is so cool," Naruto whispered just loud enough for Sasuke to hear.

"Hn," was all Sasuke said in agreement.

"That ends the final test! You all pass! Tomorrow, Team 7 will begin it's official duties!"

"We did it!" Naruto and Sasuke cheered.

"Let's go!" Kakashi said as he and Sakura began to leave.

"HEY! UNTIE US!"

"DATTEBAYO!"

xxx

"So they passed? That's great!" the Hokage let out a relieved sigh. "You've never passed anyone before. I was worried!"

"I almost didn't," Kakashi confessed. "Though I suspect that I might have landed myself a bit of a troublesome team."

"Naruto and Sasuke sure are a handful. Sasuke used to be so quiet too… Naruto's influence probably. He's better like this though, don't you think?" The Hokage smiled.

"Maybe. Sakura's the one I'm worried about. There is no doubt she's a quick study, but she's probably the weakest out of the new genin. Even the Yamanaka girl has something that makes her special, despite not excelling in any other area," Kakashi said.

"Maybe," the Hokage said thoughtfully. "But I see potential in her. She reminds me of a certain someone… Anyways, you really think Naruto is ready?"

"Of course he is," Kakashi smirked. "He's your son after all, Minato-sensei."

The Yondaime Hokage leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"I hope you're right."


	4. Chapter 4

"What's the distance to target?"

" _Five meters. I'm ready."_

" _So am I."_

" _Me to!"_

"Okay. Go!"

Kakashi listened over the radio as the genin ambushed their target.

" _Gotcha! Owowowowow!"_

" _Don't let go, dobe!"_

" _Don't just stand there!"_

" _And get clawed? No thank you."_

"Are you certain it the target?" Kakashi asked over the radio.

" _Ribbon on the left ear… yup, it's Tora alright,"_ Sakura reported.

"Good. Lost Pet Tora Search Mission, complete!"

" _Goddammit Sasuke, get your ass off the ground and stop laughing! Help me already! Some friend you are, dattebayo!"_

xxx

"My cute little Tora-chan, I was so worried!"  
"In your face, you stupid cat!" Naruto snickered as the tabby was crushed in the arms of her owner.

"No wonder it ran away," Sakura whispered.

"Nice work, Team 7," the Yondaime said as the Feudal Lord's wife left. Sakura couldn't help but be caught off guard every time she saw the Hokage in the same room as Naruto. She knew they were father and son, but the two were so different personality wise, despite their physical similarities. Yondaime was always so mellow and soft-spoken; it was like comparing Naruto to Hinata!

"Your next mission… Babysitting an elder's grandchild, shopping in a neighboring village, helping in the potato fields…"

"No thank you!" Naruto announced. "Can't you give us something more exciting?"

"Yes please!" Sasuke said in an overly polite tone.

"You idiot!" Iruka-sensei snapped. "All genin start with missions like these! You start here and work your way up!"

"We always get the crappiest missions!" Naruto moaned. "I'm the Hokage's son, dattebayo! I can handle it!"

The yondaime smiled softly. Naruto was his mother's son after all…

"Listen, Naru," Yondaime said, his voice gentle and almost nurturing. "The village receives many requests every day, from babysitting to assassination. We separate these missions by difficulty and give them a rank. Shinobi are given different ranked missions depending on their skill and their rank as a shinobi. Genin usually receive D-ranked missions for several months before being given their first C-ranked mission. So it will be a while before-"

"-we went to Ichiraku last night, it's my turn to choose!" Sasuke pointed out.

"Ehhh? But you always choose boring places!" Naruto complained.

"Are you even listening?" Iruka snapped.

Naruto sighed and approached the Hokage's desk. He gave his father the most innocent look possible. He batted his eyelashes and held his hands behind him, rocking side to side a bit. He finished the look with a slight pout.

"I'm sorry, papa. I just really want to prove that I'm not just a troublemaker anymore! I'm a shinobi, dattebayo! Please?"

"Like that's going to work," Sakura murmured.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sasuke smirked. "Naruto and I have out own title for the Yondaime."

"Title?"

"Yeah. The World's #1 Baka-oya," Sasuke snickered.

"Well, I guess I could give you a simple escort mission," The Yondaime said with a slight blush. Naruto turned back to his team with a triumphant smile.

"Tazuna-san!"

"What the hell is this?" the man demanded as he entered the room and took a swig of his alcohol. "They're all a bunch of brats! Especially the short one with the stupid face. Are you really a shinobi?"

"You shouldn't pick on Sasuke like that," Naruto said.

"I think he was talking about you, dobe," Sasuke ground out.

"Eh?" Naruto compared his height to his teammates. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"You can't kill the one you're trying to protect, idiot," Kakashi sighed as he held the young gennin back.

"Your mission is to protect Tazuna-san on his way back to the Nami no Kuni and while he finishes building the bridge that will connect the country to the mainland," Yondaime explained.

"I leave my life in your hands," Tazuna said dryly. "Unfortunately."

"There, there," Sasuke patted the fuming boy on the head. "You can kill him after we finish the mission. I'll even help you hide the body. Are there any sharks near your country?"

"You're scaring me Sasuke," Sakura said warily. Sasuke gave her his brightest, most innocent smile.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Yondaime watched Team 7 with an amused smile. God, he remembered when Kakashi was that cute! He missed his team…

"Yondaime?"  
"Huh? Oh, uh, right," he cleared his throat. "You will be heading out in about an hour. Good luck on your mission."

"Yes sir!" Naruto and Sasuke said melodramatically, complete with salute.

"You two are so dumb."

"Shut it, nerd."

xxx

"Let's go!" Naruto announced excitedly as Team 7 and Tazuna began to leave the village.

"What are you so excited about?" Sakura asked.

"I've never been to another village except for Suna before," Naruto said. "I can't wait to tell Hinata!"

"Am I really safe with this brat?" Tazuna asked Kakashi.

"Well, I am a Jounin, so you shouldn't have to worry," Kakashi reassured him.

Naruto glared at the older man. He really wanted to punch the guy in the face.

"Oi! You have any clue who I am? I am the Yondaime Hokage's son, and the shinobi who will one day become the greatest Hokage in history, Namikaze Naruto! You better remember that, dattebayo!"

"The Hokage is the strongest in the village, right? Like someone like you could do it," Tazuna scoffed.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

"I said you can't!" Kakashi sighed as he held the boy back.

"Is he really the Hokage's kid?" Tazuna asked incredulously. "Though I guess they do look alike…"

"I have a hard time believing it myself at times," Sakura murmured.

"The Hokage seemed so level-headed. How did he get a kid like this?" Tazuna said loudly. Naruto was now being held back by his best friend, who looked like he'd rather help the genin than stop him.

"He takes after his mother," Kakashi said just loud enough for Tazuna to hear.

xxx

"Ne, Sensei," Sakura began. "Do they have shinobi in Nami no Kuni?"

"No," Kakashi said.

Sasuke drowned the rest of the conversation out. Something was bugging him. He didn't know why, but he felt as though someone was watching them. He couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Kakashi seemed as relaxed as ever as he gave Sakura a lecture about the other hidden villages. Trust the nerd to want to be enthusiastic about such a thing. Though he guessed it wasn't really a bad thing to want to learn…

"Ne, Sasuke, what's up?" Naruto asked.

"Huh?"

"You're all tense. Something wrong?" Naruto asked again.

"I don't know, I-"

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The two genin turned in time to watch as their sensei was ripped into pieces by a chain held by two shinobi.

"One down."

Sasuke's heart stopped when he saw the shinobi make their way behind Naruto. Sasuke was barely able to see them move.

"Two down."

Sasuke barely had a chance to move when Sakura threw the shuriken at the chain and pinned it to the tree. Sasuke jumped up and landed on their arms, glaring at them with rage filled eyes that held the barest hint of red.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on my friends," he growled. Sasuke kicked the two of them in the face, sending them tumbling to the ground.

The two were back on their feet in barely a second. One charged at Naruto while the other went straight for Tazuna. Sasuke hesitated. Naruto or Tazuna? Before he could make up his mind, Sakura jumped in front of Tazuna, ready to fight the enemy shinobi herself. He could barely see Naruto out of the corner of his eye, but he knew that look. Sasuke nodded slightly before charging to Sakura's side. He practically threw himself in front of her, ready to use his own body as a shield.

It turned out not to be necessary, as the shinobi was easily caught by the obviously not dead Kakashi, who had the other shinobi unconscious in his other arm. Naruto's relief was written plainly on his best friend's face.

"Sorry for not helping you right away, Naruto. I got you injured. I didn't think you would be unable to move," Kakashi said. "By the way, good job, you two."

Sasuke watched as his best friend's face fell from relief to horror, than shame. Sasuke wanted more than anything to console his best friend, but he knew it would do him no good. This was Naruto, after all. So he put on his most confident face as he approached Naruto, who was just barely getting off the ground.

"You alright, scaredy-cat ?" he said.

Naruto's eyes blazed with fury, but Sasuke was unfazed. This was the nature of their relationship. Naruto didn't need kind words or pity. He needed fuel, fuel that would encourage him to fight harder, to be better.

"Not know you two. Their weapons are soaked in poison. We have to treat Naruto's hand. If we don't open the wound and drain the poison, it could spread throughout your body," Kakashi said. _I don't want to have to explain to my sensei why I let his son die on his first C-ranked mission._ "Tazuna-san, I need a word with you."

"These are chuunin from Kirigakure," Kakashi began after tying the shinobi up. "These shinobi are after you. This isn't part of the mission. We are only supposed to protect you from gangs and the like. The presence of enemy shinobi makes this a B, if not A-ranked mission. No doubt you lied in order to avoid the cost of such a mission…"

"Oi, isn't this too much for genin?" Sakura asked nervously. "And Naruto needs to get his hand treated."

"Maybe we should go back… This isn't a mission for genin, plus we need to get Naruto's wound treated-"

Kakashi realized his mistake in wording the moment the kunai was plunged into Naruto's hand. Sakura gasped and Kakashi was dumbfounded. Sasuke simply smirked knowingly.

 _I won't be a burden, dattebayo! How can I become Hokage if I spend the rest of my life being protected by Sasuke?_

"I'll protect the old man!" Naruto said firmly. "We're continuing this mission!"

 _That's my future hokage,_ Sasuke thought proudly.


	5. Chapter 5

"Naruto, it's good that you're releasing the poison but…" Kakashi was using an overly-friendly tone that made Sakura nervous. "if you lose too much more blood you could die."

Sakura expected Naruto to freak out, but he didn't. He just gave Kakashi a look that said 'seriously?' and rolled his eyes.

"Can someone just help me bandage this or something?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Hai hai," Kakashi sighed. Kakashi knelt down with bandages in hand to treat the genin's hand.

"You should be more careful, dobe," Sasuke asked, though his tone suggested he wasn't really all that concerned.

"Like something like this could kill me," Naruto scoffed. Than Naruto's face darkened and he lowered his voice so that only Kakashi and Sasuke could hear him. "It's not like I'm a regular human being after all."

Kakashi flicked his eye over to Sasuke in surprise. Sasuke was avoiding his sensei's eyes. He looked over to make sure that Sakura was out of range before leaning in closer to whisper:

"You know you aren't supposed to be going around telling people about _that."_

"Sasuke isn't people," Naruto said stubbornly. Kakashi shook his head.

"You two-"

"Kakashi-sensei," Tazuna interrupted. "If you are about done, I think I owe you an explanation."

Kakashi nodded. He gave the two boys a stern look.

"We will discuss this later. And Minato-sensei will be hearing about this," Kakashi said before going to join Tazuna.

"What were you three whispering about?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, we just wanted to make sure that Kakashi knew that Sasuke was on his period," Naruto said.

Sasuke's face turned bright red and be began to sputter, too embarrassed to form any actual words. Sakura gave Sasuke a mischievous smile.

"Sasuke! Is there something you've neglected to tell me about?" Sakura asked innocently. "I thought the genin teams still only had one kunoichi each."

Naruto began laughing so hard, tears were streaking down his face. Sasuke glared at the two of them and hit Naruto on the back of the head which only made the blonde laugh harder.

"You three stop messing around and get over here!" Kakashi called. "You should hear this too."

xxx

"The fog is so thick," Sakura said. "I can't see a thing!"

"You should be able to see the bridge soon," the boat man said. "Nami no Kuni is at the base."

Sure enough, it only took about five more minutes for the bridge to come into view.

"It's huge!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Be quiet!" the boat man hissed. "We don't want Gato's men to find us!"

It wasn't long after that they came to shore. They look a longer route and docked in an area surrounded by vegetation that didn't seem to be a place that people came to often. Tazuna bid farewell to the boat man, who left them at the shore.

"My house is this way," Tazuna said, pointing down a path that looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time. "Please get me home safely."

"Yes, yes," Kakashi sighed.

Naruto began laughing to himself, though he tried to stifle it.

"What are you laughing about?" Sasuke asked as they walked.

"Oh, nothing, Sasuke _-chan."_ Sasuke groaned. "I wonder if Hitomi-chan knows…"

"Hitomi? Who's that?" Sakura asked.

"She's Sasuke's-"

Naruto stopped suddenly. His attention was drawn to a bush near the path. Sasuke watched his friend curiously.

"W-what is it?" Sakura asked nervously.

"It feels like someone's there," Naruto said.

Kakashi went to investigate. He reached into the bush and paused. The genin and Tazuna tensed. A white rabbit jumped out of the bush and ran away from the Jounin. The weary travelers let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't scare us like that!" Sakura said, hitting Naruto on the back of the head.

"Don't hit Naruto!" Sasuke snapped. He then proceeded to hit Naruto on the back of the head.

"That hurts, teme!"

"You can't tell me not to hit Naruto and then hit him yourself!" Sakura scolded.

"No one hits my friends but me," Sasuke said stubbornly.

"You two are so-"

"GET DOWN!"  
The three genin reacted on instinct. Naruto and Sasuke dropped to the ground while Sakura pushed Tazuna down and followed. The sword flew over their heads and lodged itself on a near by tree. A man landed on the sword's hilt. A shinobi, no doubt. He was shirtless and had the largest muscles the genin had ever seen. His lower mouth was hidden behind bandages.

 _I wonder if this guy likes perverted books too?_ Naruto wondered.

"Well, well, if it isn't Kirigakure's missing nin, Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi said. He sounded nonchalant, but Sasuke could sense the seriousness hidden behind the words. He found himself inching closer to Naruto, which earned him a glare from Naruto. "Everyone stay back. This one is on a whole 'nother level. This might be tough…"

Kakashi reached up for his headband that covered his left eye.

"...unless I do this."

Kakashi lifted the headband, revealing the red eye underneath. Sasuke blinked. Was that…?

"You are Sharingan no Kakashi, right?" Zabuza said. "Sorry, but the old man is mine."

"Sharingan?" Sasuke repeated in surprise.

"Ah. You didn't know about that?" Naruto asked.

"No, I didn't know!" Sasuke snapped.

"Surround and protect Tazuna," Kakashi ordered. "Do not enter the fight. That is the teamwork here. Zabuza…"

Kakashi pushed his forehead protector out of the way, revealing the red eye for all to see. Sakura watched in confusion.  
"I already get to see the famous Sharingan. I'm flattered," Zabuza said.

"Sharingan? Isn't that…?" Sakura began.

"The Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai. With that, he can see through all Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu. He can even copy any technique he sees with that eye," Sasuke said.

"That's right. When I was a member of Kirigakure's assassination squad, I kept a bingo book. It included information about you," Zabuza explained. "The man who has copied over 1000 jutsus, Kakashi the Copy shinobi."

"I didn't know sensei was so great," Sakura whispered to her teammates.

"Of course," Naruto huffed, smiling proudly. "He was my father's pupil after all!"

"Eh? Seriously?"

"But how did he get the Sharingan?" Sasuke hissed.

"Enough talking!" Zabuza finally snapped. "I have to kill that old man."

The three genin jumped into formation.

"But it seems I have to beat you first!"

Zabuza lept from the tree, taking his sword with him. He landed on top of the water, one hand above his head and the other before him, forming a seal.

 _ **Ninpou, Kirigakure no jutsu.**_

A heavy fog appeared out of no where and within seconds Zabuza was completely obscured from their view.

"He'll come after me first," Kakashi said. "Zabuza is known as an expert in silent killing. You won't even notice him until you're dead. I am no Uchiha, and I can't use the Sharingan perfectly, so be wary!"

"Oi, is the fog getting thicker?" Naruto asked.

" _Eight choices."_

"Eh?"

" _Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, brain, kidneys, heart."_

" _Which one should I go after?"_

All three genin instantly felt the moment Kakashi's chakra intensified and clashed with Zabuza's. Tazuna of course couldn't feel this, but he couldn't help but jump when the genin did. Sasuke could feel the killing intent around them. Naruto… Naruto is in trouble… Naruto is going to-

"Don't worry," Kakashi's reassuring voice cut through Sasuke's panic. "I'll protect you guys even if it kills me. I don't let my comrades die."

Sasuke physically relaxed at the words, and he could sense the others doing the same.

" _We'll see about that!"_

They barely had a chance to register the fact that Zabuza had managed to get between them and Tazuna before Kakashi was there as well. He pushed the genin out of the way and stabbed Zabuza in the stomach with a kunai.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto screamed out in warning as a second Zabuza charged at him, swinging his blade. The first Zabuza collapsed into a puddle of water as the second cut clean through Kakashi.

 _A Mizu Bushin?_

The second Zabuza was caught off guard as the fake Kakashi became a puddle of water.

 _How did he copy it in this fog?_

"It's over," Kakashi announced as he held the blade to Zabuza's throat.

"Sorry but-" the second Zabuza began.

"-I'm not that easy," the third Zabuza finished as he seemed to appear out of no where behind Kakashi. The second Zabuza disappeared as the jutsu was released. Zabuza slashed at Kakashi with his sword and Kakashi ducked but couldn't dodge the kick. Kakashi was sent flying into the water. Zabuza went in for a killing strike, but was stopped by the makibishi Kakashi had dropped on the ground. Zabuza left into the air, disappearing temporarily into the fog. Zabuza reappeared behind Kakashi as he finally broke the surface.

 _ **Suiro no Jutsu**_

Kakashi cursed as he was encased in a water sphere.

"There's no escaping that prison, Kakashi," Zabuza said. He directed his gaze to the three genin still on dry land. "Now, time to take care of them."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Mizu Bushin no Jutsu**_

Thew genins tensed as the clone rose from the water and began to make it's way towards them.

"Wearing those headbands and pretending to be shinobi," Zabuza's voice was laced with scorn. "A real shinobi is one who has had numerous brushes with death. Only when you are good enough to be listed in my bingo book can you call yourselves shinobi!"

The clone disappeared into the mist. Naruto barely had a chance to put his guard up before he was sent flying to the ground, his headband landing just before the clone. The clone stepped on the headband like he was crushing a bug.

"Take Tazuna and run! You don't stand a chance! He can't move as long as he is keeping me in his prison!" Kakashi cried. "The clone can't go too far from his real body! Run away now!"

 _This is a jounin,_ Naruto thought, _a real shinobi. At this rate, I'm really going to die, dattebayo!_

Naruto turned to push himself up and run, when pain drew his attention to his hand.

Sasuke was ready to run to Naruto's side when he saw the look on Naruto's face. Naruto was remembering something. Sasuke looked at where Naruto was focused on: his wounded hand. He saw the moment Naruto came to a decision, but still he was unprepared for when Naruto charged at Zabuza.

"No, don't!" Kakashi cried.

"Naruto, what are you thinking!" Sakura pulled at her hair in frustration.

Sasuke tried to run to stop him, but before he made it even half way, Naruto was sent flying away again. Sasuke was at his side within moments, Sakura right behind him.

"What were you thinking? Attacking him by youself? We genin don't stand a chance!" Sakura scolded him. Sasuke was about to join her, but stopped when he realized what Naruto held in his hand.

 _His headband?_

"Hey, you eyebrowless bastard!" Naruto growled out as he stood. Sasuke caught his eyes for a second. A grin spread across his face as he stood next to him. "Put this in your bingo book! The son of the Yondaime Hokage and the shinobi who will one day become the greatest Hokage in history!"

Naruto tied the headband back onto his forward, a confident smirk on his face and a blue fire burning in his eyes.

"The Konoha Shinobi, Namikaze Naruto!"

"The Yondaime Hokage's kid?" Zabuza said thoughtfully. "I'm surprised you would bring someone so… _important_ on such a dangerous mission. What if he got hurt? Or kidnapped? I doubt your leader would be very happy about that. He has a lot of enemies, y'know…"

 _It wouldn't be that big of a deal if the idiot would stop announcing it to everyone he meets,_ Kakashi thought.

"Hey, Sasuke, I gotta plan, dattebayo," Naruto said.

"Not one of your 'plans,'" Sasuke gave a half-hearted groan.

"Let's show him the strength of Konoha's greatest duo!" Naruto said proudly.

"You have a lot of confidence, but do you really think you stand a chance?" Zabuza asked.

"What are you doing? Run away!" It was slight, but Kakashi's voice was beginning to betray a hint of desperation. "This fight was over the moment I was caught! Our mission is to protect Tazuna-san, or did you forget that?"

"Ossan…" Naruto looked back to Tazuna doubtfully.

"I planted this seed myself. I'm not going to say that I want to live enough to stop you so," Tazuna gave them a carefree smile. "I'm sorry, guys. Fight as much as you want!"

"You hear that?" Sasuke asked.

"You ready, teme?" Naruto replied.

The genin were caught off guard when Zabuza began to laugh.

"Going to keep playing shinobi, eh?" Zabuza said between laughs. "When I was your age, my hands were already dyed red with blood."

The gennin felt their blood run cold.

"Akuma no Zabuza…" Kakashi said.

"So you've heard?" Zabuza asked.

"In Kirigakure, in order to be shinobi, they had one last test," Kakashi said, his voice low. "A fight to the death between students. Students who had been friends were forced to kill each other."

"Terrible…" Sakura mumbled.

"They were forced to change, however, when one student killed over a hundred of his fellow students."

"That was a lot of fun," Zabuza said with a nostalgic tone.

The only warning they got was Zabuza's eyes snapping to focus in on the two boys before Zabuza struck. He got Sasuke in the stomach with his elbow. Before anyone had a chance to react, he hit him again, slamming him into the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cried.

 _ **Kage Bushin no Jutsu!**_

Zabuza looked around casually at the clones that now surrounded him.

"That's sure is a lot of clones…"

The clones attacked, only to be flung away, but it gave Sasuke his chance to get away.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked up in time to see Naruto throw a large shuriken at him. He caught it easily, a grin spreading across his face when he realized what Naruto's plan was. Sasuke stood and opened the shuriken, purposely drawing Zabuza's attention to it.

"A shuriken won't work on me," Zabuza spat.

"Hn," was Sasuke's only response before throwing the shuriken, ignoring the bushin and aiming straight for the real Zabuza. Zabuza predictably caught it and it only took him a second to see the second one coming.

 _The Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!_ Kakashi realized.

"Still not enough!" Zabuza called out as he lept up to dodge the shuriken.

Sasuke couldn't help the laugh that escaped him.

Not even Kakashi saw it coming. Naruto released his transformation. HIs momentum kept him spinning for a moment in the air. Naruto threw his kunai straight for Zabuza. Zabuza almost moved out of the way , but the kunai got his cheek and blood began to drip down his face. Enraged, Zabuza spun around to use his own shuriken against him, only to be stopped.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi stood on top of the water, using the back of his hand to stop the shuriken.

"Nice plan, Naruto," Kakashi praised him. "You both did good."

"I got distracted and released the jutsu," Zabuza said.

"No, they forced you to," Kakashi said firmly. Zabuza glared at the Sharingan user. "Now, let's finish this."

xxx

"I'll tell you now that the same technique will not work on me twice," Kakashi told Zabuza.

The two shinobi broke apart. As soon as they landed on the water, the two began to make seals at a speed that was impossible for anyone to follow.

 _ **Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!**_

Two dragons made of water shot out of water and collided. Naruto was washed away in the water. The moment Sasuke saw Naruto's head disappear under the water, Sasuke took off after him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called as Sasuke dived into the water. Sakura searched for her teammates. She stood before Tazuna, using herself as a shield between Tazuna and the fighting Jounin. The fight was getting more and more intense. Dread gripped Sakura's heart when she still couldn't see the two boys. Why hadn't they resurfaced?

"Go," Tazuna said. "I think I'll be fine for now."

Sakura nodded her thanks and began to run for the water.

 _ **Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!**_

Sakura was cut off by what seemed like a mini tsunami. The water barely missed her. She grabbed onto a near by tree until the wave passed, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. She didn't dare open her eyes until she could no longer hear the water crashing into ground. Instead, it was replaced by sputtering and cursing of familiar voices. She opened her eyes and looked around. She found what she was looking for a few yards away, soaked to the bone. Naruto was stretched out on his back and Sasuke was propped up with his arms behind him. Sakura ran to their side and dropped down to her knees.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke looked up at her and nodded slightly. Naruto propped himself up and looked around.

"Where's…?"

"Over there!"

Zabuza was standing against a tree, with Kakashi up on one of its branches. They were saying something, but they couldn't hear from where they were. The next thing they knew, Zabuza fell over, completely still. A young boy, no older than themselves, stood on the branch of a nearby tree. Naruto and Sasuke got to their feet and ran to Kakashi's side while Sakura went back to guard Tazuna.

"He's dead," Kakashi told them when they were close enough to year him. Naruto stared at Zabuza's body in shock.

"Thank you very much," the masked-boy bowed slightly. "I have been looking for a chance to kill Zabuza for a long time."

"A Hunter-nin, huh?" Kakashi asked.

"That is correct," the boy said.

"What the hell?" Naruto finally snapped. "Who the hell are you?"

"Naruto-" Sasuke started.

"He's not our enemy," Kakashi said.

"But Zabuza- we fought so hard, dattebayo! And he just-"

"Naruto!"

Naruto practically snapped his neck to look over at Sasuke. He could see the rage and the tears of frustration that he refused to let fall. Sasuke shook his head and hoped he was able to convey his sympathy even without words. Naruto looked down, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists. Naruto didn't say another word as the hunter-nin took Zabuza's body and disappeared.

"Alright!" Kakashi said cheerfully. "I think it's about time we took Tazuna home."

"Thanks, guys! Let's go relax at my house!" Tazuna said.

Sasuke managed a small smile. Naruto was still avoiding looking anyone in the eye. It was probably because of this he was the first to notice Kakashi as he fell to the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, dobe!"

Naruto sputtered as a bucket of water was dumped on his head.

"What the hell, teme!" Naruto shouted.

"Kakashi's awake," he said.

"Yeah, well you soon won't be!"

Kakashi sighed when he heard familiar shouts through the walls, followed by a loud crash. Tazuna's daughter- Tsunami- looked towards the door, alarmed.

"Don't worry, they're always like that," Kakashi said. "Though I worry about what damage they might be causing."

"They've been practically inseparable since they've been here though," Tsunami said. "If they didn't look so completely different, I would think they were twins or something."

"I don't know, I think that's pretty common for brothers, no?" Kakashi chuckled.

"They aren't actually…?"

"No," Kakashi said. "Though they might tell you different."

"STOP FIGHTING YOU IDIOTS!"

"OW!"

"DON'T HIT NARUTO!"

"OW! TEME!"

The three genin came to the room a few minutes later. The two boys both sported several bruises and were now sitting right next to each other, best friends again. Tsunami looked at the two of them, then to Kakashi. The Jounin chuckled. His expression changed into a serious one and the entire mood of the room shifted.

"There's something important we need to discuss," Kakashi said,

"What's wrong, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Well," Kakashi began. "Hunter-nins usually dispose of bodies by burning them or having them eaten by animals. They might take the head, but they usually don't move the body at all. But what did the masked boy do?"

"He took the body with him," Sakura stated, not sure where her sensei was going.

"Right. And there was the way he 'killed' him."

 _Simple needles…_ Sasuke thought. "You don't mean…?"

"That's exactly what I mean," Kakashi said.

"What are you talking about?" Tazuna asked.

"More than likely, Zabuza is alive," Kakashi said.

"EH?"

"Didn't you check the body?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, but it is possible that with those needles, the boy was able to cause a momentary death, just long enough to try to fool us," Kakashi said. "I may be wrong, but we will act as though I'm not. Better safe than sorry."

Sasuke felt Naruto shaking beside him. It wasn't like Naruto to be frightened. He was going to tease him, but stopped when he saw the excited grin on his face. Sasuke shook his head. Of course the dobe would be happy Zabuza's alive, that idiot!

"Yosh! YOu three will be receiving special training!" Kakashi announced.

"Training? What good will training do?" Sakura asked.

"You have all been improving at a rapid rate, especially you, Naruto," Kakashi said.

"Then me and Sakura probably haven't done any improving at all," Sasuke muttered.

"Shush! Don't ruin the moment teme!" Naruto snapped.

"Wouldn't want sensei to come out of his delusions too soon, eh?" Sakura joked.

"Not you too!" Naruto groaned.

"We have some time. If my theory is correct, Zabuza won't be able to do much moving around for a while. We will use that time to make you stronger," Kakashi said.

"Sounds like fun, dattebayo!"

"How is that fun?"

"Who the hell are you, dattebayo?" Naruto yelled at the newcomer.

"There you are, Inari," Tazuna greeted the boy with a smile.

"Welcome back, grandpa," the boy said as he went over to hug his grandfather.

"Say hello, Inari. These are the shinobi who protected your grandfather," Tsunami said.

Inari stepped away from his grandfather and eyed the shinobi critically. Sakura was smiling slightly, a bit uncomfortable under his stare. Naruto was still glaring at him slightly, not at all amused by his earlier comment. Sasuke was preparing for the worst while Kakashi seemed indifferent to the entire situation.

"Mom, these guys are going to die," Inari finally announced.

"What did you say, you little brat!" Naruto snapped.

"There is no way you can stand against Gatou. You are all going to get yourselves killed like idiots," Inari said.

"You little- I'm gonna-!"

"Why are you getting angry at a child?" Sakura scolded him. She was holding Naruto back on one arm while Sasuke held the other.

"We can kill them after the mission, remember!" Sasuke assured him. "I'm sure there has to be some way to hide the bodies... The fog might help…"

"What are you talking about…?" Tsunami asked, her eyes wide.

"He's joking," Kakashi assured her. _I hope._

"Oi, Inari! Listen up!" Naruto held his fist out to him a confident smirk accompanying his glare. "I am the son of Konoha's greatest hero _and_ the Yondaime Hokage! I don't know who this guy thinks he it, but he is nothing compared to me!"

"Pft," Inari rolled his eyes. "What are you stupid? There's no such thing as heroes!"

"What!"

"Stop it!"

"Get out. Leave, unless you actually _want_ to die," Inari warned them as he left the room.

"Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked.

"To my room," Inari said as he left the room.

xxx

"Where's that brat's room?" Naruto growled.

"Just leave it, it's not worth the trouble," Sasuke sighed.

"That brat needs to be taught a lesson, dattebayo!" Naruto declared as they went up the stairs. "When I'm done with him-"

Sasuke was caught off guard when Naruto's rage disappeared and was replaced by surprise. They had reached the top of the stairs and a couple of feet away was a door that was left slightly ajar. From the door was the undeniable sound of crying.

"...Dad…"

Naruto's face softened. Sasuke place a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder . The boy shook his head, as if trying to shake a thought from his head. He turned around and headed back down the stairs, his best friend following behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

"We will start our training now."

Team 7 was in the middle of the woods, not too far from Tazuna's home. From here, they had enough room to work with while still being able to hear any screams from the house. Not that Kakashi intended to remain with his team for the entirety of the training. After they understood what they needed to do, there wasn't much need for him to be there anyway.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cried out excitedly.

"This training is going to help you learn to control your chakra," Kakashi said.

"What? Why?" Naruto asked.

"We can already use jutsus," Sasuke pointed out.

"Perhaps, but you aren't using your chakra properly," Kakashi sighed.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"As you know, you create chakra by mixing physical and spiritual energies in your body," Kakashi said.

"Is that what happens?" Naruto whispered to Sasuke.

"Dunno. I think that was the class you convinced me to sneak out of," Sasuke whispered back.

"The type of jutsu you use affects the amount and type of chakra is released. You guys aren't using it effectively yet. Even if you use a lot of chakra, if you can't control it, the jutsu will be weakened or may not even work," Kakashi explained. "That is the reason Naruto can use the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, but not the simpler Bushin no jutsu."

"I see," Sakura said. "Naruto keeps using too much chakra when using the regular bushin jutsu, but with a kage bushin, more chakra is needed. Is that it?"

"That's right!" Kakashi praised. "It's good to see we have someone intelligent on the team."

The two boys glared at the kunoichi, who just smiled proudly.

"If you keep wasting unnecessary energy, you won't be able to fight very long, which could end up getting one of you killed one day," Kakashi said.

"What so we do about it then?" Sasuke asked.

"We train," Kakashi said. "This training won't be easy. It is really tough and is probably going to push you to your limits."

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked.

"Tree climbing."

All was silent for several moments. It was as though the genin's brains had slowed to a near halt and was unable to process the information they had received. Once the information was finally processed in a way their minds were able to understand, the response was instantaneous.

"TREE CLIMBING?"

"Yep."

"Sounds boring," Naruto groaned.

"What kind of training is that?" Sakura asked.

"Tree climbing has nothing to do with chakra," Sasuke grumbled.

"Well, let me explain," Kakashi said. "This isn't normal tree climbing. You won't be using your hands."

"Sounds fun!" Naruto grinned.  
"How?"

"We have left the realm of impracticality and have ventured into impossibility," Sasuke said dryly. "Please continue."

"Just watch," Kakashi said. He was still for a moment as he molded his chakra. He then turned towards the nearest tree and… began to walk up the side.

"... Naruto, I think being your friend has finally driven me into insanity," Sasuke said. Naruto wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on Kakashi. He had a stupid grin on his face as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.-

"Gather chakra on the bottom of your feet climb the tree," Kakashi said. "If you can control your chakra, it's actually rather easy. It's a basic skill for any chuunin level shinobi. Plus, through this training, you will first learn to control your chakra. The amount of chakra needed is small, but it must be exact. Once you are able to control your chakra to that level, you will be able to master any technique, theoretically. Second, you will gain the stamina needed to execute jutsus during a battle that will require you to be in constant motion. Well, I think that's enough talking."

Kakashi threw three kunai at the feet of the genin.

"Use the Kunai to keep track of your progress. It takes a lot of control to simply walk up a tree, so get a running start and use your momentum to run up the tree."

Naruto picked up the kunai and gave Kakashi a confident smile.

"This training is nothing to me! After all, I am the most improved of the three of us, dattebayo!"

"Yeah, yeah, just pick a tree and start already," Kakashi sighed.

The genin were silent as they began to gather their chakra at the bottom of their feet. All at once, they ran forward. Naruto made first contact with the trees, only to fall back on his head. Sasuke made it up a few steps before the bark shattered under his foot and he lost his footing. He barely managed to mark the tree with the kunai before falling back to the ground.

"It's sure is harder than it looks," Sasuke said. "Get up off the ground, dobe!"

"This is earlier than it looks!" Sakura announced. The two boys looked up to find the Kunoichi sitting happily on a branch high above the ground. She swung her legs under her and stuck her tongue out at them.

"Looks like the best one at chakra control right now is Sakura," Kakashi said.

"Not, bad Sakura!" Naruto called up.

"I guess," Sasuke grumbled.

"Don't be a sore loser, Sa-su-ke-chan!" Sakura giggled. Sasuke glared daggers at her.

"It looks like Sakura is closer to becoming Hokage than a certain someone," Naruto flinched. "I guess the Uchiha clan isn't much either."

Sasuke fixed Kakashi with a dark glare. Naruto winced. Did he have to say that? Sasuke looked over to Naruto. His glare was gone, but there was shadow still there. Naruto smiled encouragingly. The two boys took a deep breath and ran.

xxx

"This is super fun!" Tazuna laughed. "It's been such a long time since we've eaten with so many people!"

Sakura watched, dumbfounded, as her two male teammates stuffed their faces. For some reason, the two appeared to be competing to see who could eat faster. The two held their bowls up, rudely asking for another helping. The two caught each other's eyes and glared at each other. Sakura could almost see the sparks fly. Then their faces turned a deathly shade of green before the two were losing the food they just ate all over the floor.

"If you are just going to throw up, stop eating!" Sakura snapped.

"No, we must eat to keep up our energy," Sasuke panted.

"Yeah, no matter what," Naruto agreed. "Because I have to get stronger, dattebayo!"  
"Yes," Kakashi cautiously agreed. "But throwing up is no good."

"Don't give them more!" Sakura snapped. "You two clean this up!"

"But-"

Sasuke and Naruto froze in their protests when Sakura turned glare towards them. She began to crack her fists as she approached. The two boys gulped.

xxx

"Hey, why do you have a torn picture hanging on the wall?" Sakura asked. The other two genins had just finished cleaning their mess and were now holding ice packs to their freshly bruised heads. The air seemed to turn heavy at the question. Tsunami hesitated in her cleaning of the dishes, before continuing.

"He was my husband," she said in a manner that suggested that was that. Tazuna, however, decided to continue.

"He was a man who was once a hero in this country," Tazuna said.

"Inari, where are you going?" Tsunami asked as Inari stood from the table. He all but ran out the door and slammed it behind him. "Inari! Father, I asked you not to talk about hit in front of Inari!"

Tsunami followed after Inari. The room fell into silence. No one knew what to say next. It was Sakura who finally worked up the courage to break the silence.

"What's wrong with Inari?" she asked carefully.

"Inari, had a father once," Tazuna began. "But they were not related by blood. Not that you would know by seeing them together. Inari used to laugh a lot. But… Inari changed… after his father was killed."

Sasuke found himself watching his friend out of the corner of his eye throughout the entire story. Naruto had his head rested on his arms and to anyone else, he would appear to be simply listening to the story about a man who took a lonely young boy under his wing and became a hero to the entire country, only to be killed trying to protect the country and family he loved.

 _Hits a bit close to home, huh?_

"After that, everyone changed. Inari, Tsunami, even the entire country."

Naruto couldn't sit still anymore. He jumped up and tried to leave, only to trip over his own feet and land face first on the floor.

"Where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"If you're thinking about training, don't. Take the day off. You can seriously hurt yourself if you don't take a break," Kakashi warned.

"I'm going to prove it," Naruto said as he stood. "I'm going to prove that heroes do exist!"

Sasuke smirked as Naruto ran out the door.

xxx

"Naruto didn't come back again last night?" Tazuna asked.

"He's been climbing trees since he heard your story," Sakura explained. "He's really simple like that. He's probably used all of his chakra up and died by now."

"Is he alright?" Tsunami asked. "It's dangerous for a young boy to be out in the woods all by himself like that."

"Don't worry," Kakashi reassured her. "He may not look like it, but he is a Konoha shinobi. He can take care of himself."

"I don't know, I wouldn't be surprised if he was dead right now," Sasuke said, more to himself than anyone else. He stood suddenly and left without a word.

"What's the hurry?" Tsunami asked.

Kakashi chuckled.

xxx

"You'll catch a cold sleeping in a place like this."

Naruto's eyes fluttered open slowly. He groaned when the sun hit his eyes. He looked up at the girl that had woken him. She was really pretty... He sat up lazily and rubbed his eye.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked sleepily.

xxx

"Is this the plant you wanted, nee-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, thank you," she said.

"This plant is medicine?" Naruto asked. "You sure work early."

"So do you. What were you doing out so early?"

"Training!" he told her.

"Eh? That headband… are you a shinobi?" she asked.

"You noticed!" Naruto grinned proudly. "I am a shinobi from Konohagakure!"

"Wow, you're incredible," the girl said in awe.

"Hehehe."

"Why are you training?" she asked.

"To become stronger of course," he answered.

"But you seem pretty strong to me," she said.

"No, I need to get stronger," Naruto said firmly.

"Why?"

"So I can become the greatest Hokage in history! Besides, I'm the current Hokage's son," Naruto's smile faded a bit. "What good am I if I'm constantly having to have someone protect me?"

"Is that for yourself? Or for someone else?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Do you have someone who is important to you?" she asked. "When protecting someone important to you, only then can you become truly strong."

Naruto fell silent as he thought. He smiled softly.

"I do. Have someone. Well, more than one someone," Naruto said.

The girl smiled back at him then stood, taking her basket with her.

"Than you will become truly strong," she said. "May we meet again."

"Oh! And one more thing," she said as she was leaving. "I'm a boy."

Everything fell silent as the 'girl' disappeared from view. Naruto was quiet for a few moments, processing the new information.

"EHHHHH?"  
"Naruto!" Sasuke called as he ran towards his friend. "What's wrong?"

This world is weird," Naruto said, not really acknowledging Sasuke. "This world is so weird!"

"What's gotten into you?" Sasuke asked. Naruto continued to ignore the other boy and mumble to himself. Sasuke sighed.

"OW! TEME!"


	9. Chapter 9

"Where is Naruto?" Kakashi asked. He and Sakura stood in the woods that they had amde their training area. They were standing right before the trees Sasuke and Naruto had been climbing, but neither boy were anywhere to be seen.

"He went off on his own this morning. He's been missing breakfast a lot. At least he isn't throwing up anymore…" Sakura sighed. "Sasuke went on a walk and hasn't come back either."  
Before Kakashi could respond, a kunai landed between them. The two looked around, trying to find the source. Their eyes landed on Naruto, who was resting on a branch far above their heads. He'd gotten even farther up that Sakura had managed!

"He can climb that high already?" Sakura was in awe.

"What do you think? See how high I can climb now, dattebayo!" Naruto called. Naruto tried to struggle to his feet. Kakashi watched in horror as Naruto's feet slipped and he began to fall backward.

"Ah! Idiot!" Sakura cried.

"If you fall from that height-"

Naruto screamed.

 _My body is still-_

"Just kidding!" Naruto laughed as his feet grabbed onto the branch and he was now hanging upside down. Kakashi sighed in relief.

"You scared me, you idiot!" Sakura scolded.

"You fell for it-"

Naruto's chakra finally gave out, and he was falling.

"You idiot!" Sakura screamed. "Stop showing off!"

AHHHHHHHHHHHH-ah?"

"Idiot," Sasuke said. He was hanging upside down from a branch and firmly holding onto Naruto's ankle.

"Don't call me an idiot, teme!"

"I'll call you whatever I want, dobe!"

Kakashi sighed.

"Let's go," Kakashi said. "They'll be fine."

"But sensei-"  
"They'll be fine," Kakashi said. _So long as they're watching out for each other._

xxx

"Oh? You're finally back," Tazuna said as Naruto and Sasuke walked into the house. They were both covered in dirt and sweat. Sasuke was supporting Naruto, who looked completely worn out. "What happened to you two? You guys are really dirty."

"We made it to the top!" Naruto announced proudly.

"Good," Kakashi nodded. "You two will join us in guarding Tazuna on the bridge tomorrow."

"YOSH!" Naruto cried. He ended up knocking him and Sasuke to the ground.

"Usuratonkachi."

"I'm so worn out myself," Tazuna said as Sasuke helped Naruto to the table. "At this rate, we'll have the bridge complete in no time!"

"You and Naruto better not overdue it," Tsunami said.

Both groaned in response.

"Why?" Inari asked softly.

"What?"

"Why do you try so hard!" Inari shouted. "No matter how hard you train, you'll never be a match for Gatou's men! No matter what glorious claims you make or whose son you are, the weak will always end up being killed by those stronger than them!"

Naruto snorted.

"Whatever, kid. I'm not like you."

"I'm glad! I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything, yet you keep sticking your nose in this country's business!" Inari screamed through his tears. "What the hell do you know? You're different from me! You're always clowning around and pretending you're so much better than everyone else because you're some Hokage's son! You don't know how hard life can be!"

"And that's somehow worse than crying all the time and making myself some hero of my own personal tradegy?" Naruto sat up, glaring at the boy. Sasuke stiffened when he noticed Naruto's pupils begin to slit. "Than go ahead and cry for the rest of your pathetic little life, you crybaby!"

"Naruto you've said enough!" Sakura snapped.

Naruto stood and left the room with his hands in his pockets. Sasuke followed, making sure to bump into the boy on his way out. If he buried the body deep enough in the woods, no one would ever find it, at least not for a while…

xxx

"Mind if I join you?" Kakashi asked. Inari didn't respond as the jounin sat down beside him. "Naruto didn't mean any harm by what he said. He just doesn't really think things through before speaking."

Inari didn't respond.

"You know… Naruto's never met his mother," Kakashi said. Inari finally looked up. "His mother died the night he was born. The village was attacked by a monster and she helped the Sandaime Hokage seal it away. She was one of the village's greatest heroes."

Inari looked away.

"He is a lot more like you than you think," Kakashi said. "I think that's why he got so angry. He hasn't had it easy, but he doesn't complain and he almost never cries. Even when he's sad, he does his best and never stops trying to make his dreams come true, and to make his father proud."

Inari didn't know how to respond, so he said nothing and continued to look down at his hands.

"He's probably sick of crying by now. He knows what it means to be truly strong, just like your father. He probably understands your feelings better than anyone else."

"What?"

"He doesn't seem to be able to not be concerned about you."


	10. Chapter 10

"I OVERSLEPT!"

Naruto came crashing into the room, still in his pajamas. Inari was helping his mother sew.

"Where is everyone?" Naruto demanded.

"Sensei said that you should rest-"  
"I knew it! They left without me!"

Naruto ran back into the room and changed as quickly as he could. Two minutes later he was flying out the door.

"They should have woken me up!" Naruto complained. "Huh? What's that?"

It was a boar. Naruto stopped before it, confused. _Are those… from a sword?_ There were slashes on the trees too. They were heading through the woods towards…

 _Tazuna's house!_

Naruto ran back the way he came. This was bad. Really bad. He stopped when he saw Tsunami being escorted out of the house by two men who were definitely not from Nami no Kuni. He hid himself as he surveyed the situation. Was it a kidnapping? Naruto quickly began thinking of a plan. He had to get Tsunami-san out of there!

 _ **Kage Bushin no Jutsu**_

Naruto began to relay his plans to the clones. Before he could finish, Inari burst out of the house.

"Get-Get away from my mom!" the boy screamed as he charged. The two swordsmen drew their swords. Tsunami tried to stop them, but one of the goons knocked her out.

 _Newplannewplannewplannewplan!  
_ _ **Kawarimi no Jutsu!**_

Naruto barely managed to make the switch in time. He grabbed the unconscious Tsunami and brought them a safe distance away.

"Sorry, I'm late," Naruto said. "But heroes always show up at the last second!"

"Naruto!"

"Good job, Inari," Naruto smiled.

"Well, well, if it ain't one of the loser shinobi Tazuna hired," one of the men chuckled.

"Thanks to you distracting them, I was able to save your mom," Naruto continued, ignoring the men. The goons, not at all happy with Naruto ignoring them, drew their swords and charged at them.

"Naruto, watch out!" Inari cried. Naruto threw two shuriken at the goons, which they easily blocked.

"Like that would work on us!" they scoffed.

"Baka," Naruto smirked.

Inari gasped as two bushin took the men out. They crumbled with a single kick each. Inari stared in shock. Naruto… was this strong? He just thought that he was idiot, but he just…

"Hey, Inari," Naruto drew Inari from his thoughts. "Sorry for calling you a crybaby. You're stronger than I thought!"

Naruto patted him on the head with a proud grin on his face. Inari cursed when he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"I decided I wasn't going to cry anymore," Inari sobbed. "You're going to make fun of me again…"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto's smile softened. "It's alright to cry when you're happy!"  
"Well," Naruto looked over at the men his bushin had just finished tying up. "If they attacked here, then the bridge could also be in danger. I can count on you here, right?"

"Of course!" Inari replied.

"Man, it sure is tough to be a hero!" Naruto declared as he began to head out.

"It sure is!" Inari called back.

xxx

 _ **Hijutsu: Makyo Hyosho!**_

Sasuke watched as the water on the bridge and ascended around him, surrounding him in what looked like mirrors made of ice.

 _What is this jutsu?_ Kakashi thought.

Haku approached one of the mirrors and Sasuke watched as he seemed to be absorbed by the mirror. nExt thing he knew, Haku was reflected in all of the mirrors.

" _Shall we begin?"_

"What are theses mirrors?" Sasuke muttered to himself.

" _I'll show you my real speed!"_

"Ow!" Sasuke gasped as he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. He touched it gently and pulled his hand away to see the blood. He barely had time to register what he was seeing before the next attack hit. It was like someone had unleashed a storm of needles that was trying to shred his body apart.

"Move and I'll kill those two," Zabuza warned. Kakashi cursed.

"Sasuke! Run!" Sakura cried. But it was no use. Even if Sasuke wanted to, the attack was coming from everywhere; there was no opening.

"Tazuna-san, I'm going to have to leave you for a moment," Sakura said urgently.

"Go!" Tazuna agreed.

Sakura ran towards the mirror prison and pulled out a kunai. Even if she can only help a little bit... She threw it towards a gap in the mirrors.

"Sasuke!" she called.

Haku caught the kunai. Half of his body had come out of the mirror in order to do so. Sasuke collapsed to the ground, glad for a moment of reprieve, even if Sakura's plan to help had failed.

"Don't get in my way," Haku warned. Haku raised the kunai. All five of the shinobi on the bridge were caught of guard, however, when the shuriken came straight for Haku's face. Haku was able to move to avoid any serious damage, but it still managed to hit his mask. Haku lost his balance dodging the shuriken and fell out of the mirror. The shinobi stared at the cloud of smoke that the shuriken came from, trying to figure out who was hidden inside.

"You're late, dobe," Sasuke smirked.

"Namikaze Naruto has finally arrived!" Naruto announced. "Now that I'm here everything will be fine! The main character always arrives at the last moment to save the day, after all!"

"You idiot, what's with that loud entrance," Kakashi grumbled. "You call yourself a shinobi?"

"Naruto!" Sakura sighed in relief. Naruto might not be able to much on his own, but if the two of them work together…

"Naruto!" Kakashi cried as both Zabuza and Haku attacked at the same time. Naruto prepared himself as the needles and shuriken flew at him. He wasn't, however, prepared for the two attacks to collide with each other before either of them could get near him.

"What's are you doing, Haku?" Zabuza growled.

"Let me fight these two, Zabuza-san," Haku requested.

"You don't want me to interfere? You're as soft as always," Zabuza chuckled.

 _Soft? He is, isn't he? I didn't even need to protect my vitals,_ Sasuke thought. _Is he not trying to kill me. What is this jutsu? Are there clones in the mirrors? Or is it something else? The needles were too fast for me to keep track off. I couldn't even tell where they were coming from. But with Naruto on the outside we can have both of us attacking at the same time…_

"Yo, I came to save you, teme!"

Sasuke stared dumbfounded at the grinning blonde.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE A SHINOBI, SO USE YOUR HEAD! WHY DID YOU COME INSIDE THE MIRRORS! I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE! IF WE DIE, I'M GOING TO STRANGLE YOU!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, TEME? I COME TO SAVE YOU AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET? WHAT'S WITH YOU, DATTEBAYO!"

Sasuke's attention was drawn away when Haku reentered the mirrors. He readied himself to attack.

 _There's the real one-!  
_ " _Over here!"_

Sasuke looked behind him to find Haku, ignoring the new cut on his cheek. Sasuke turned and began to form his seals.

 _ **Koton: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**_

The fire ball did nothing against the ice.

" _You can't melt this ice with that level of jutsu,"_ Haku said.

Haku attacked again and the two gennin cried out.

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed as the attack ended. "Where's the real one!"

" _Tracking this technique with your eyes is impossible,"_ Haku taunted.

 _ **Kage Bushin no jutsu!**_

"Then I'll break them all!" Naruto announced as his bushins went to attack the mirrors. Neither gennin were able to see a thing as his bushins were destroyed and Naruto cried out in pain as he was sent to the ground.

" _This jutsu uses the mirror's reflection to teleport. From my point of view, it as though you are moving in slow motion,"_ Haku explained,

"Sp what!" Naruto spat. "I have a dream that I have to fulfill! I can't die here!"

Haku was silent for a moment.

" _It is hard for me to become a true shinobi,"_ Haku said. " _I don't want to kill you, nor do I want to make you kill me. But if you come at me, I will have no choice by to destroy my 'gentle heart' and become a true shinobi. Here, on this bridge, we fight to protect our dreams. Me for my dream, and you for yours. Please don't hate me. I have someone precious I want to protect. Someone who's dream I wish to help come true. For that reason, I can become a true shinobi."_

" _For that, I can kill you."_


	11. Chapter 11

" _For that, I can kill you."_

"Naruto! Sasuke! Don't lose to that guy!" Sakura cheered.

"Don't encourage them, Sakura," Kakashi said.

"Huh?"

"Even if they were somehow able to defeat that jutsu, they cannot beat that boy," Kakashi said gravely.

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"They don't have the strength to destroy their hearts and kill another person," Kakashi said.

"It is impossible for a true shinobi to be born in a peaceful village like yours," Zabuza said. "You are denied the one thing you need: the experience of killing."

"Than what do we do, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura panicked.

"Sorry but I'm going to have to end this quickly," Kakashi said.

xxx

"Dammit! All we're doing is running around, dattebayo!" Naruto grumbled as he struggled to his feet.

"Just be quiet and stand up!" Sasuke snapped. "We're going to be hit no matter what, just try to avoid any serious wounds. He has to run out of chakra eventually!"

 _This is bad!_ Sasuke thought. _We have to do something! My eyes are slowly getting used to his speed. Maybe…_

 _He's getting better at dodging me,_ Haku observed. _That boy… he sees something… But you should be at your limit._

 _He's coming!_ Sasuke tensed. _Calm down… Concentrate… and see through it!_

Sasuke jumped to action. He grabbed Naruto and dragged him out of the way of Haku's attack. He ended up stumbling and the two boys tumbled to the ground but the attack didn't so much as graze either of them.

 _He dodged it! How-?_

Sasuke looked up and Haku was caught in his blood red graze.

 _Sharingan!_

"You… I see. You are an Uchiha," Haku concluded.

It wasn't complete, but the Sharingan was dangerous enough when it was Kakashi using it. Haku's jutsu used a lot of chakra. He was running out of time. He couldn't risk a long confrontation with a true Sharingan heir.

… _than I'll just use that boy!_

"Naruto!"

Naruto groaned at the sound of his name. When did he lose consciousness? He rolled over and propped himself up on his hands, wincing in pain as he did so. He saw Haku on the ground and Sasuke standing between them. Naruto smiled with relief as he looked up to Sasuke.

Naruto's heart stopped.

Just how many needles were in his friend's neck? Naruto hadn't even noticed the specks of blood around him. Was it Sasuke's? Sasuke coughed; the sound was sickening and blood splashed on the ground before him.

"Why?" Naruto whispered. "Why why why why!"

Naruto glared up at his best friend with tears in his eyes.

"How many times… how many times do I have to tell you that I don't need your protection! You…"

Sasuke smiled softly.

"How… can I not… dobe…"

Naruto caught Sasuke as he finally collapsed. Sasuke still had that soft smile on his face. The sight made Naruto's chest tighten in pain.

"Looks like… I won't be able… to make my dream… come true," Sasuke said. His voice was barely above a whisper and every word looked like it was causing him an immense amount of pain. "Don't… you dare… die too…"

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispered. Sasuke didn't respond. His eyes were closed and his body was limp in the genin's arms. "Oi. Teme. Don't mess around. This isn't funny!"

"He jumped into the way without hesitation," Haku said as he struggled to his feet. "He knew it was trap, but in order to protect his precious person, he jumped in anyway. He willingly gave his life to protect yours. He is a shinobi worthy of respect."

"Is this the first time seeing a friend die?" Haku asked as he returned to his mirrors. " _This is the way of the shinobi."_

"Shut up…"

xxx

" _A dream?" Sasuke asked._

" _Yup!" the eight-year-old Naruto smiled brightly. "I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever, dattebayo! What about you? What do you want to be?"_

" _I…" Sasuke looked down. "I don't know."_

" _You don't know?" Naruto frowned. "You don't want to be a shinobi?"_

" _I'm an Uchiha," Sasuke said. "I have to be."_

" _That's kinda sad," Naruto said._

" _Why?"_

" _Because you don't have a reason to get stronger, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed._

" _I'm-"_

" _Being an Uchiha isn't a reason, dattebayo" Naruto interrupted. "Something shallow like being an Uchiha or being the Hokage's son isn't enough. As proud as I am of being my father's son, I am not him. I want to be Hokage for me, not because of him. The same goes for you. It's fine to be proud of being an Uchiha, but that isn't really who you are, right?"_

 _Sasuke stopped. Naruto walked a few more steps before he noticed his best friend wasn't walking with him anymore. He stopped and looked back at him._

" _What's up?" he asked._

" _I've decided," Sasuke said firmly. "I know what my dream is."_

" _Eh? Just like that?"_

" _Yup," Sasuke smiled confidently. "My dream is…"_

xxx

" _ **I won't forgive you…"**_

Haku caught Naruto's eyes and froze. Never before had a simple glance caused such fear in him. He could feel Naruto's chakra changing. His eyes had changed. They were red, but it was definitely not the Sharingan. His pupils had slit and Haku swore he saw his canines and nails grow into fangs and claws. He was no longer looking into the eyes of a young genin. This was a beast.

And Haku was his prey.

" _ **I'll kill you!"**_

Haku watched as chakra began to spill from Naruto's body. The chakra was red, a color Haku never thought possible for chakra. The chakra poured out hatred and rage. It an evil chakra. The chakra began to take shape. It swirled around Naruto as he gently placed Sasuke's body on the ground before standing. The chakra took the shape of a fox's head above the boy. Haku watched as the boy's wounds began to heal and Haku's needles fell to the ground.

Naruto charged.

Haku attacked but Naruto used to pure chakra to deflect the needles. Haku moved to a mirror above the boy. Naruto skidded to a stop and began looking around for his prey. Haku took advantage of his distraction and charged at the boy. However, Naruto saw him coming. He leapt into the air and spun out of the way. Haku tried to run back to the mirrors, but Naruto was on him in an instant. He was caught. Naruto let out a deafening roar. Haku's mirrors began to crack under the force of his chakra.

Naruto's fist collided with Haku's mask. Haku was caught off guard by Naruto's new super human strength. Haku was sent flying into one of his mirrors and he didn't stop there. The mirror was destroyed under the force of the hit. The rest of the mirrors crumbled. Haku finally stopped several yards away.

Haku slowly got to his feet. He was distantly aware of Naruto charging at him. His mask began to crumble. Haku felt as though he was in a dream. Nothing felt real. He turned to face his enemy and realized a horrible truth.

 _Zabuza-san… I cannot defeat this boy… Zabuza-san…_

Naruto stopped. Haku blinked in confusion. He could instantly feel the difference in the boy's chakra. That evil chakra was gone and his chakra had returned to normal.

"You…" Naruto looked up. His blue eyes betrayed his confusion. "You're the one from the forest…"  
"Why did you stop?" Haku asked. "I killed your important friend, but you can't kill me?"

Naruto's anger rose again, but no where near to the intensity it was before. Naruto punched Haku, but it lacked the strength of the last one.

"People have made this mistake before. Letting their enemies live out of pity and leaving them with nothing but their lives…" Haku said. "Not having a dream. Not being needed by anyone. Simply just existing…"

'"What are you talking about?" Naruto snapped.

"Zabuza-san has no need for a weak shinobi," Haku said and smiled sadly. "You have taken away my reason for existing."

"Why…? Why for a guy like that…?" Naruto spoke as though he was barely able to keep his anger at bay. "That guy… he's a murderer who kills for money! Is he really the only important person you have?"

"I had people very dear to me once," Haku said. "My parents."

xxx

"Please, Naruto. Kill me," Haku begged. "Why are you hesitating?"

"You.." Naruto's mind was reeling. "Why did you have to be this way? Why… you could have found something or someone… anyone else!"  
"I don't expect you to understand," Haku said. "But, that day in the forest, I knew that you were different. Maybe, if I had met you before Zabuza, things would have been different."

"Is this… is this really the only way?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

Naruto nodded slightly and drew a kunai.

"Thank you, Naruto," Haku said. "Fulfill your own dreams."

"He…Sasuke had a dream too," Naruto muttered. With that, he charged.

"Thank you," Haku whispered as he closed his eyes. _You will become strong one day._

Haku caught Naruto's hand just as he was about to strike a fatal blow.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Haku said. "It seems I have one last thing I must do!"

"Eh?"

Before Naruto could ask, Haku was gone. Naruto looked around, confused. His eyes eventually landed on Sasuke's body. He slowly approached his best friend. When he reached his side, he fell to his knees.

xxx

" _I've decided," Sasuke said firmly. "I know what my dream is."_

" _Eh? Just like that?"_

" _Yup," Sasuke smiled confidently. "My dream is to see you become the Hokage!"_

" _What kind of dream is that?" Naruto asked._

" _I'm gonna do it! I'm going to help you- no, I'm going to make sure you become the Hokage. And then when you are Hokage, I will be right by your side."_

 _Both boys grinned._

" _It's a promise, then?" Naruto asked._

" _One I have no intention of ever breaking!"_

xxx

"Teme…" Tears began to fall down Naruto's face. "You promised… You promised… How could you… you broke your promise!"

He couldn't do it. He couldn't stand being there any longer. He stood and turned away. He made his way over to where he knew Kakashi and Zabuza were still fighting, not once looking back.

xxx

"Eh?"

Naruto could barely understand what he was seeing. Kakashi and Zabuza stood facing each other but someone was standing in between them. It was Haku. He stood there with Kakashi's hand piercing his chest.

"Good job, Haku," Zabuza praised the dead boy.

Naruto was dumbfounded.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto watched in horror as Zabuza drew his weapon and began to slash at Kakashi and the boy. Kakashi grabbed onto the boy and jumped out of the way. Rage filled Naruto. He was… He was going to…

"Naruto, stay there!" Kakashi yelled. "This is my fight!"

Sakura hadn't even noticed Naruto approach until then. She sighed in relief when she saw him.

"Naruto! You're alright-"

Sakura stopped when he saw Naruto's face. His eyes were puffy and red and tears stained his face. Dread filled her heart.

"Na… ruto?" Sakura asked. "Where… where's Sasuke?"

Naruto looked up at her. His eyes were wide and lost.

"He promised…" Naruto began to whisper to himself. He clenched his fist. "He _promised."_

Sakura and Tazuna cautiously made their way to Naruto. Sakura gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto? What happened?"

"He promised," Naruto repeated. "He said… he said he was going to make me the Hokage. He said that was his dream. He said he wouldn't die until then. _He promised."_

Sakura didn't want to acknowledge his words. It was almost as if…

"Let's both go," Tazuna whispered. "That way you won't be breaking your sensei's order."  
Sakura nodded. She took Tazuna's hand and took off towards where the boys had fought Haku, leaving Naruto alone.

xxx

Sakura stared in shock at Sasuke's body. Tazuna looked away. Sakura fell to her knees and gently touched Sasuke's cheek.

"He's cold… this isn't an illusion…" Sakura said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Sasuke didn't used to smile like he does… like he did. When he first started the academy, he was always quiet and didn't really have any friends. He spent all of his time studying. Even when he did smile, it always seemed... fake. Then he became friends with Naruto. He changed. He and Naruto would play pranks on everyone. He and I clashed a lot. Probably because I was always one of the first ones to retaliate against Naruto. He was always so protective of him. But I admired him, in a way. I was picked on a lot and I hated myself until another girl reached out to me. We were a lot alike, in that way…"

"You can cry if you want to," Tazuna said. "Don't mind me."

"I always got 100% on my shinobi exams," Sakura began. Her voice was monotonous and distant. "I always wrote the correct answer. Than one day, this question appeared. Write down Shinobi Rule no. 25. I wrote down the answer as usual. 'No matter what the situation, a shinobi must keep their emotions on the inside. A shinobi must always put the mission first. A shinobi must posses a heart that never allows them to show tears.' That… is the way of the Shinobi."

Tazuna watched the girl as she continued to stare at the body of her former teammate. Only a solitary tear betrayed her true emotions.

 _This is what it means to be a shinobi,_ Tazuna thought. _It's too cruel..._


	12. Chapter 12

"You're getting your ass kicked? How disappointing."

The three shinobi stared in surprise at the short man and his goons. There had to be at least twenty of them!  
"Gatou. What are you doing here? And what is with those men?" Zabuza growled.

"The plan has changed," Gatou chuckled. "Well, not really. I planned on doing this from the start. Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here."

"What?"

"I never planned on paying you. Hiring a normal shinobi from a village is expensive and they might betray me. So I use missing-nins who are easy to expose of afterward. Good plan, eh? The only problem was you Zabuza. Devil of the Mist… more like a cute little devil."

"We can easily kill you now!" one of the goons cheered.

"Our fight is over, Kakashi," Zabuza said. "I have no reason to go after Tazuna now. My reason for fighting you is gone."

"Huh?"

"I guess you're right," Kakashi said.

"This is the one who broke my arm," Gatou said as he approached Haku's body. He sneered and kicked him. "Dead, huh? Good riddance!"

"What are you doing, you bastard!" Naruto charged at the short man. Kakashi grabbed him by the collar.

"Stop! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Kakashi scolded.

"Hey! Say something! Weren't you friends?" Naruto practically screamed at Zabuza.

"Shut up kid. Haku is already dead."

"Don't you feel anything?"

"Just as Gatou used me, I used Haku. That's all it was. In the world of shinobi there are only those who use and those who are used. We shinobi are tools. What I wanted was his blood, not him. I have no regrets."

"You… do you seriously mean that?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Why do you care?" Zabuza asked. "He killed your friend didn't he?"

"You-"

"Stop, Naruto! We aren't fighting him anymore," Kakashi said.

"My enemy is still him!" Naruto yelled. "He loved you! He really loved you! DO you really feel nothing? You really… really don't feel _anything?_ If I become as strong as you, will I really be like you? He gave up his life for you! Without fulfilling his own dream… to die as a tool… that's just too sad!"

"Hay… gaki…"

Naruto, who had began to cry again by the end of his rant, was caught off guard by Zabuza's tears.

"You… don't have to say anymore," Zabuza said. "It pained him to fight you. Haku… was too kind. I'm glad… I got to face you guys as my last opponents. You may be right. Shinobi are still humans. We may be incapable of becoming emotionless tools. I've lost."

Naruto was silent. For the first time in his life, he was at a loss as to what to say.

"Hey, lend me your kunai," Zabuza requested.

"Huh. Oh. Sure."

Naruto took one of his kunais out of his holder and tossed it to the missing-nin. Zabuza caught the kunai with his teeth.

The rest was over in less than a minute.

xxx

" _It's a promise, then?" Naruto asked._

" _One I have no intention of ever breaking!"_

" _You'd better not!" Naruto said. He was still smiling, but the smile no longer reached his eyes. "You can't go and die before then alright?"_

 _Sasuke's smile fell._

" _Naruto…"_

" _You… you're my first friend y'know? Everyone is nice to me because of my dad, but they still avoid me. So you can't go and leave me before you fulfill your promise, okay?" Naruto said seriously._

" _I promise," Sasuke said, Naruto clasped his hands on his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes._

" _I won't forgive you. If you dare give up again… If you ever try to… I won't forgive you. You got that?"_

" _I get it," Sasuke assured him, giving him a small smile. "You're going to be stuck with me for the rest of your life, dobe."_

" _I better be, teme."_

xxx

 _Naru… to…._

THe first thing he was aware of was a hand on his cheek. It didn't move; it was just resting there. It was rather warm, actually. The next he felt was the pain. He could feel the needles in his skin and the hundreds of cuts all over his body. He was tired. So tired. He just wanted to the hand moved. It wasn't much; just the thumb. It wasn't much, but it began to rouse him. He opened his eyes slowly.

"Sa.. kura?"

Saskura's eyes widened. Sasuke looked up at her is confusion. Was she crying…?

"Sasuke?" she asked softly. In the next second, she was glaring at him. There was no real heat behind her eyes.

"You… baka! You scared me!" Tears began to fall freely and Sakura sobbed. "Baka, baka, baka, BAKA!"

Sasuke groaned in pain as he sat up. Sakura stopped yelling at him and began to help him. Sasuke gave her a soft smile in thanks.

"We thought you were dead," Tazuna laughed in relief.

"Dead… Naruto!" Sasuke tried to stand, but fell back down. "Where's Naruto and the masked kid?"

"Naruto's fine. The masked kid is dead," Sakura reassured him.

"Dead? Did Naruto…?"

"No. He died protecting Zabuza," Sakura said. Sasuke tried to stand again and managed it this time with Sakura's help. "You… you should be more careful."

"I can take care of myself," Sasuke assured her. "But tha-"

"Naruto was really messed up," Sakura interrupted him. "You promised him right?"

xxx

" _My dreams… I don't really have one."_

xxx

" _He promised," Naruto repeated. "He said… he said he was going to make me the Hokage. He said that was his dream. He said he wouldn't die until then. He promised."_

xxx

"If that's the case, then you better keep it."

Sasuke was caught off guard. He smirked.

"I fully intend to," he said confidently. "Thank you."

"For what?" Sakura waved him off. "Naruto! Sasuke's fine! He's alive!"

Naruto spun around so fast Sasuke was surprised he didn't get whiplash. He still had tears streaked down his face. Naruto began to cry again, this time in relief, but stopped himself. He wiped his face off and gave him a disapproving look.

"Oi! Took you long enough, dattebayo!"

Sasuke grinned.

"I'm the future Hokage's right hand man! As if I'd die here," Sasuke scoffed.

Sakura shook her head.

"Hey, aren't you guys celebrating a bit too early?"

Their attention was drawn to the goons on the other side of the bridge.

"Hey, you damn shinobi killed our meal ticket!"

"You are so dead!"

"We're gonna pillage the village and take anything of value!"

"Let's begin!"

"This is bad," Kakashi said in a voice much too calm for the situation as the thugs began to charge.

"Kakashi! Don't you have some special jutsu that can take care of them all?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have enough chakra, not after using Raikiri and the Sharingan."

Before the thugs could even make it half the distance to them, an arrow landed on the bridge before them.

"Hey, if you come any closer to this island-" Naruto and Kakashi turned to see all the men of the village gathered with whatever they could get their hands on for weapons. In the front was Inari with the crossbow the arrow had come from. "-the citizens of this country will stop you with everything we've got!"

"Inari!" Naruto cried.

"A hero arrives at the last second, right?" Inari smirked.

"Yosh, I can help too, dattebayo!"

 _ **Kage Bushin no Jutsu!**_

Four more Naruto's joined the first, causing the now nervous thugs to flinch.

 _I can do that much at least,_ Kakashi thought.

 _ **Kage bushin no Jutsu!**_

… _Kakashi style!  
_ "You want some of this?" Kakashi and hid bushins taunted.

"NO WE DON'T!" the thugs screamed in terror before running back to the boat they had arrived on.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up as his bushins were dispelled. "Snow?"

Sure enough, it had began to snow. Movement caught Naruto's eye and he looked over to see Kakashi laying Zabuza down next to Haku. The entire village was silent as Zabuza made his final farewells to the boy he had taken under his wing so many years.

"He… Haku was born in a snowy village," Naruto managed between sobs.

"I see," Kakashi said. "He was a boy as pure as the snow."

xxx

2 weeks later…

xxx

"Kakashi-sensei…"

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Were they right?" Sakura asked. "About Shinobi."

"A shinobi isn't supposed pursue his own goals. Becoming the country's tool is the most important thing," Kakashi answered. "It's the same in Konoha."

"Is that was it really means to be a shinobi?" Naruto frowned. "I don't like it."

"Do you believe that too?" Sasuke asked.

"That's…" Kakashi fell silent for a moment. He stared at Zabuza's and Haku's graves as though he was contemplating something. "Every shinobi has to spend his life dealing with that issue."

"You didn't answer my question," Sasuke pointed out.

Kakashi didn't respond.

"I've decided," Naruto declared. "I refuse to accept that shinobi are just tools. I won't live my life like that! I'm going to be shinobi my own way!"

Both Sasuke and Kakashi smiled proudly.

"I have no doubt you will…"

xxx

"Thank you. For everything," Tazuna said. "We're going to miss you."

The shinobi stood before the new bridge as they said their farewells. Inari and Naruto were doing a horrible job trying not to cry. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Don't worry, we'll come to visit, dattebayo!" Naruto assured them.

"You… better…" Inari's voice cracked out.

"You… you're sad right?" Naruto asked. "It's okay to cry!"

"I'm not going to cry!" Inari shouted. "But… Naruto… you can cry too!"

"Well… later!"

Both boys burst out in tears as soon as the other wasn't looking.

 _They're like twins,_ Sakura thought.

Sasuke chuckled softly and reached out to wrap his arm around his friend's neck and ruffle his hair.

 _That boy changed Inari's heart and Inari changed the people's hearts. That boy gave us a bridge to hope called courage... oh yeah, we need to name the bridge. I think I have the perfect name too._

 _Oh? What is it?_

 _The Great Naruto Bridge._

 _xxx_

"Why are you back already?"

"Change in plans."

"What?"

"We ran into a couple of Kirigakure missing-nin and they told us an interesting story. Apparently they were defeated by a jounin and three genin. They described one of the genin as being a blonde boy with a loud mouth and six marks on his cheeks."

"Well, well, well. Sounds like the Yondaime finally let his boy out of his cage. Big mistake."


	13. Chapter 13

Hello again everybody! I'm back! This part was going to be separate chapters but I decided to put it all in one! Yay! I have the outline all set for the Chuunin Exam arc, I just need to write up a few chapters before I start posting it.

Enjoy!

xxx

"I can't wait to tell that dog freak about this mission, dattebayo!" Naruto snickered.

"I didn't know you and Kiba were friends," Sakura said. Naruto snorted.

"As if! That jerk is always giving me a hard time, dattebayo! Well, I'll show him!"

"Don't even bother," Sasuke told him. "He's not going to believe you."

"That's why you're going to come with me! You'll be my witness, dattebayo!"

"Ehh. I don't wanna," Sasuke whined.

"Oh come on, don't you wanna support your best friend?" Naruto asked, batting his eyes. Sasuke grimaced.

"Dude, don't use that face with me. I'm not your dad," Sasuke said. Naruto pouted. Naruto watched his friend out of the corner of his eye for the next mile. Sasuke hadn't fully healed from the fight on the bridge. He did his best to hide it. but Naruto could see how tired he was. Not even Sasuke was able to completely hide his limp. Naruto groaned and sat down on the ground.

"I'm tired!" he announced.

"How are you tired already? You didn't need a break last time," Sakura pointed out.

"Not true: we took a break to listen to Tazuna's story after we were attacked," Naruto replied.

"That was _because_ we were attacked," Sakura said.

"I'm tired!" Naruto argued stubbornly. "I want to take a break. Just a small one. Please?"

"A small break won't hurt," Kakashi said. "We have plenty of time."

"Yay!" Naruto said. He ran over to the shade, dropped his bag, and flopped onto the grass.

"Seriously. There's no way he's actually tired. He's got way too much energy…" Sakura trailed off when she saw Sasuke stiffly sit down next to his friend. Sakura saw him grimace in pain, though he tried to hide it. She smiled softly and shook her head.

"They're both so stubborn," she mumbled.

Sasuke was listening quietly while Naruto went on and on about… something. He wasn't actually paying attention. Sasuke was grateful to Naruto for making them take a break without drawing attention to Sasuke, but he just didn't have the energy to keep up with one of Naruto's random conversations. He wanted to lay back, but knew if he did he would fall asleep. Sakura came over and sat down on Sasuke's open side and pulled out a water bottle from a bag along with a couple bags with powder. She poured a little bit of each into the bottle and shook it up.

"It's a natural pain killer and an energy booster. It's not nearly as strong as soldier pills or any of the professional stuff, but it should help," Sakura said professionally. "It tastes like crap though."

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at the bottle, than at Sakura. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I didn't put anything else in it. I want to hurry and get home is all," she said.

The boys looked at each other and Naruto shrugged. Sasuke took the bottle and smiled gratefully.

"Ah… thank you," Sasuke said. Naruto grinned brightly. Sasuke took a sip and gagged.

"I told you it tasted gross," Sakura grinned. Sasuke glared at his best friend who was laughing before drinking the entire bottle in one go. He grimaced as he took a gasp of air.

"You sure it wasn't poison?" Naruto asked.

"I guess we'll know soon enough," Sakura said with a straight face. Sasuke glared at them while Naruto laughed. Sasuke suddenly tensed and turned to look into the forest. Naruto immediately stopped laughing.

"Sasuke? What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing…"

"Well! I'm all ready to go!" Naruto announced as he stood.

"Shouldn't we rest a bit longer?" Sakura asked.

"No," Sasuke said. "We should go."

Kakashi, who had been leaning against a near by tree reached Icha Icha Tactics, closed his book and straightened himself up.

"Well, it's a bit late for that," Kakashi said lightly.

"What are you- AH!"

Sakura barely noticed the shuriken aimed at her head in time to dodge it. Sasuke shoved Naruto back into a tree and shielded from their invisible attackers. Their attackers weren't invisible for long, however. Two masked men jumped out of the forest and charged at them. Kakashi intercepted their attackers and kicked one into a tree. The other managed to dodge him and swiped at him with a Pantera claw. Kakashi dodged easily and put some distance between them and making sure he was between the attackers and his team.

"Move it, teme!" Naruto snapped.

"Naruto, you need to stay back-"  
"I can take care of myself! I don't need you protecting me all the time, dattebayo!"

Naruto shoved Sasuke away from him. Normally, the shove would have just moved him enough out of the way for Naruto to escape from between him and the tree, but in his state, Sasuke ended up toppling to the ground. Naruto frowned and bent down to try to help him back up, but was stopped when a kunai was thrown at him.

"Who are you?" Kakashi demanded.

"I don't feel like telling you," the man with the yellow mask said. The man with the blue mask was just recovering from the blow Kakashi had landed on him.

"What do you want?" Kakashi asked. "We just finished a rather tiring mission and I'm not in the mood to deal with thugs like you."

"Oh, that's fine. We already have what we want anyway."

"What-"

"NARUTO!"

Kakashi whipped around to find Sasuke desperately looking around for his friend who was nowhere to be seen.

 _DAMMIT!_

Kakashi turned back but the men were gone,

"He's gone… He's gone!" Sasuke cried. "They took Naruto!"

xxx

Naruto groaned as he felt the pain in the back of his head. What a way to wake up. He tried to raise a hand to inspect his head and find the source of the pain but was unable to move his arms. He blinked his eyes open slowly. His vision was blurry and he was very dizzy. He looked around trying to figure out where he was. He didn't think he recognized this place. The room was empty and the walls were made of logs. There were no windows by there was a door several meters before him. He looked down and saw the reason he couldn't move his arms. He was tied to a chair rather securely. His wrists were tied to the arms of the chair as were his ankles. He was also tied to the back of the chair with another rope tied around his shoulders.

Naruto groaned and slumped his head.

xxx

 _ **Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**_

There was a cloud of smoke under Kakashi's hand. When it dissipated, there was a small dog in it's place. Sakura stared at it with wide eyes.

"What is it this time, Kakashi?" the pug yawned. "I was just taking a nap…"

"Naruto's been kidnapped," Kakashi said. The pug sighed.

"All right, I'm on it," he grumbled. The pug stood and began to sniff at the ground.

"What… why did… did that dog just talk?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Pakkun is a special kind of dog," Kakashi said. "He's my best tracker. If anyone can find Naruto, he can."

"He wouldn't need to be found if _someone_ had been doing his job!" Sasuke snapped.

"Sasuke!" Sakura gasped.

"It's your job to make sure he's safe! Why else would the Yondaime have you assigned to our team?" Sasuke shouted at the Jounin.

"I don't know, maybe it was because of my irresistible charm."

Sasuke growled and charged at him. Sakura grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Calm down! It's not sensei's fault!"

Sasuke shook Sakura off and continued his attack on Kakashi. Kakashi sidestepped him and left his foot in Sasuke's path. Sasuke tripped and landed face first on the ground. Sasuke struggled to get back to his feet.

"Don't go after me because you're mad at yourself," Kakashi said. Sasuke looked down at the ground shamefully. He growled again and this time pounded his fist into the ground. "Naruto is a shinobi. It's about time you treated him like one."

"Oi," Pakkun interrupted before Sasuke could respond. "I've found Naruto's scent."

xxx

"OIIII! YOU BASTARDS! LET ME GO, DATTEBAYO!"

There was no response. Naruto glared at the door.

"I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, DATTEBAYO!"

More silence.

"YOU'RE MASKS LOOK LIKE CRAP!"

"COLOR COORDINATED? SERIOUSLY? DID YOUR MOM DRESS YOU? LAME!"

"I BET YOU WEAR THE MASK TO HIDE HOW UGLY YOU ARE, DATTEBAYO!"  
"HITOMI-CHAN IS STRONGER THAN YOU ASSHOLES!"

"What does that say about you," a man with a red mask said as he finally opened the door. "Seeing as how we managed to capture you."

"You snuck up behind me and knocked me out. Doesn't count," Naruto snorted. "You're not even Shinobi."

"You don't have to be a shinobi to be strong," the man replied. The other two men entered the room.

"Whatever."  
"Arrogant brat," the blue man grumbled. "Can't we just kill him?"

"We can't hold him for ransom if he's dead, you moron," the yellow snapped.

"How about he cut out his tongue then?"

"We need to hurry and get this over with," the yellow masked man said nervously. "That was Sharingan no Kakashi."

"Coward."

"Ransom? How original," Naruto said dryly.

"You are not in a position to be making fun of us," red mask said.

"Can we… y'know… hurry?" yellow man asked.

"Seriously, what is with you?" blue mask asked him.

" _He_ is not going to be happy if he hears we had the boy and didn't bring him in. If he hears we ransomed him-"

"He ain't gonna find out!" blue mask said. "We're gonna get our money and be long gone before he even notices we did anything!"

 _Who are they talking about?_ Naruto thought.

"Hey. I'm bored!" Naruto declared.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize being kidnapped and held for ransom was so boring," blue mask said mockingly.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go now," Naruto said.

"Oh, really?" red mask crossed his arms. "And just how do you intend to do that?"

Naruto smirked.

xxx

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei."

"What is it Sakura?"

"What's up with Sasuke?" Sakura asked as they ran through the trees. Pakkun was in the front with Sasuke close behind. Sakura and Kakashi were following a few feet behind. "He's acting strange."

Kakashi sighed.

"Naruto is the Hokage's son," Kakashi stated. "Minato-sensei was also a great war hero. As such, Naruto has often been targeted by those who wanted to use him against his father. Sometimes for ransom, other times for revenge."

"How have we never heard about it?" Sakura asked. She may not have been close to the boy, but she had known him for over five years. Surely she should have noticed _something._

"The ones assigned to protect him are very good, and any would be kidnapper who ever successfully managed to grab him were too smart to try anything where anyone could see him," Kakashi said. "Then, when they were 9, the two of them were kidnapped together. Since then, Sasuke seems to have made it his personal mission to protect him. He's done a pretty good job at it, actually. No one's been able to capture Naruto again ever since then, until now."

"Kakashi!"

"What is it, Pakkun?"

"We're here."

They hid in the trees as they observed where Naruto was being held. It was a small cabin that appeared to have been abandoned. The windows were boarded up and there were boards on the ground next to the door that suggested someone had pried them off the door. Kakashi felt a strange surge of chakra that had him tense. It took him a moment to realize that it was coming from the tree next to him. He looked over to see Sasuke, who looked like he was ready to run out at any second. His eyes almost glowed bright red with the sharingan.

Before Kakashi could say anything, there was a loud crash from the cabin. Kakashi blinked at the sight before him. The crash had come from the yellow-masked man being thrown through the door. He laid unconscious on the ground, surrounded by pieces of the ruined door. Naruto stepped through the ruined doorway followed by three bushin. The masked man scrambled backwards to get away from the genin but he didn't get far. He ran right into another body. He looked up slowly to meet a set of bright red eyes.

"Don't just run off on your own!" Sakura yelled at the raven-haired boy. Sasuke turned to glare at her while Naruto laughed.

"Dude," Naruto managed as his bushin were dispelled. "Did you just scare him to death?"

"He's not dead," Sasuke grumbled as he not so gently nudged the man at his feet. "He's just unconscious."

"Where are the other two?" Kakashi asked.

"Got away," Naruto said. "They bolted after I kicked their asses, dattebayo!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Let's tie him up and take him back to Konoha," Kakashi said.

Sasuke ignored the Jounin and began to check his friend for injured. Naruto growled at him a bit but allowed him. He glared at Kakashi, as if demanding that he do something, but the Jounin just shrugged.

" _Naruto is a shinobi. It's about time you treated him like one."_

Sasuke paused when he remembered Kakashi's words but shook it off. What right did he have to talk to him like that? He didn't know anything.

None of them did.

xxx

"Where is he?"

"We failed, my lord. I promise it won't happen again."

"Y-yeah. We underestimated him is all!"

"You did not just fail, you let one of your teammates get captured. What will you do if he talks?"

"He won't."

"Do not underestimate Ibiki."

"Do not underestimate us. He will not talk. I promise you that."

"Very well. I shall trust you. But if you are wrong, it won't just be his head I take."

"Thank you for your… understanding."

"Leave," the man sighed when he was finally alone. _So close… but don't you worry, Naruto-kun. We will be reunited soon enough._

xxx

Kuchiyose= Summon

For anyone who doesn't know what A pantera claw is, imagine Wolverine's claws. It's also called the Ninja Claw.


	14. Chapter 14

xxx

"It's going to be really hot today," Sakura muttered to herself as she walked down the street. It was still early in the morning and the villagers were just starting their day. The gennin stopped as three children, one girl and two boys, ran out in front of her. She smiled as she watched them go and wondered what had them so excited.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

Sakura turned towards the familiar voice to find her blonde teammate fuming and covered in pink paint.

"Naruto!" Sakura laughed. "What happened to you?"

"Konohamaru and his friends went after my dad again and got me instead," Naruto explained as he grumbled to himself. "Now I have to shower again, dattebayo!"

"We have to get to the meeting-"

"Kakashi's not gonna be there for another two hours or so anyway," Naruto said. "I was gonna stop by Sasuke's place. You wanna come?"

"Eh?" Sakura blinked. "I- I shouldn't impose-"

"I always have breakfast at his place when dad has to go in early, which is pretty much always," Naruto sighed. "It won't be a problem. Let's go!"

"But I already ate-"

"Than you can hang out! Come on already!"

"Eh?" Naruto grabbed her wrist and began pulling her along. "W-wait! I can walk on my own! Oi!"

xxx

"Oi! Teme!"

Sakura stared in awe at the house. House… more like a mansion. She never knew that places like this existed in Konoha!

"OI! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE! OIIIII! TEEEEEMMMEE-eh?"

The door slid open. The two were greeted by a man that made Sakura freeze. He looked like an older Sasuke, well, almost. He was definitely a lot scarier. He gave Naruto a glare that would have given Sakura a heart attack to have been at the receiving end of, but Naruto was unfazed.

"Naruto," he said, "Why are you here like that…?"

"I'm borrowing your shower," Naruto said. He pushed his way past the man and entered the house. The man turned to Sakura and Sakura stiffened.

"I don't believe I know you," he stated.

"Eh? Well… that is… I…"

"Fugaku! Aren't you forgetting something?" a pretty woman said as she handed the man a bento. "And who might this be?"

"Oh! I'm H-Haruno Sakura," Sakura said and bowed formally.

"Ah! You must be Sasuke and Naruto's teammate! I'm Sasuke's mother, Uchiha Mikoto and this is my husband, Uchiha Fugaku," she introduced. "I'm sure he hasn't bothered introducing himself yet."

"Hn."

"You're going to be late," Mikoto pointed out. "You, out. Haruno-san, would you like something to drink? Have you eaten?"

"I'm fine, really," Sakura said. Fugaku left without another word.

"Well, come on in!" Mikoto said. "I'm sure it will take a while for Naruto to get all that paint off. Would you like some tea?"

"Tea would be… nice," Sakura said as she followed her in. "Thank you."

"Oka-san! Is Naruto here?"

"He's borrowing the shower," Mikoto said as Sasuke entered the room. Sakura blushed when she saw that he was shirtless. Sasuke froze when he saw her.

"MOOOM! ONII-CHAN'S WALKING AROUND NAKED AGAIN- oh hi!"

A little girl came up behind Sasuke. She couldn't have been older than 5 and had long black hair tied up into twin ponytails with red ribbons. She had large, obsidian eyes that almost seemed too big for her head. Despite this, she had to have been the cutest kid Sakura had ever seen.

"Sasuke, shouldn't you go put your shirt on?" Mikoto suggested.

Sasuke turned bright red. Keeping a straight face, he turned and walked away stiffly. He ran into the door frame and stumbled back a couple of steps before leaving the room.

"Hey! Stop drooling over Onii-chan and tell me who you are already!" the little girl pouted.

"Don't be rude!" Mikoto scolded.

"Onii-chan?" Sakura echoed.

"He's my Onii-chan, not yours!" the girl screamed.

"Stop it, Hitomi!" Mikoto smacked her on the back of the head. "This is your brother's teammate, so be nice!"

Tears began to well up in the girl's eyes and seconds later she was wailing at the top of her lungs.

So this is Hitomi they keep talking about?

"Hey!" Sasuke yelled as he returned. "You better not be making Hitomi cry, Sakura!"

"I didn't do anything!" Sakura snapped.

"Why is Hitomi crying this time?" Naruto asked as he entered the room with his shirt in his hand.

"Why is everyone running around naked!" Hitomi cried.

"I'm not naked!" Naruto snapped. Naruto grinned mischievously and reached for his pants. "But if you really want me to-"

"NOOOOOO!" Hitomi screamed as she fled the room. Naruto chuckled as he slid his shirt over his head.

"Go ahead and leave your clothes here," Mikoto said. "You can pick them up on your way home."

"But then you'll end up cleaning them," Naruto said. "I have time; I can take them home-"

"Leave. Them. Here."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Now! Everyone sit down. Breakfast is almost ready!" Mikoto announced. "I'll have your tea ready in a second. Let me know if you change your mind about having breakfast with us."

"Thank you."

"I'm hungry!"

"Shut up, dobe! You're too loud in the mornings!"

"You shut up!"

"You're already fighting?"

xxx

"Will they really be okay?" Yondaime muttered.

"They are stronger than you think," Kakashi said.

"They've only been genin for a couple of months," Yondaime argued.

"And they proved themselves during their mission in Nami no Kuni."

"They should never have gone to Nami no Kuni," Yondaime said. "You should have brought them back when you discovered Tazuna-san had lied."

"Everything worked out fine," Kakashi said. "Besides, I think they learned something important from it. They can handle this as well. They are ready."

"You better be right."

xxx

"Good morning, everyone!" Kakashi greeted his team. "I got lost on the road to life-"

"LIAR!" all three gennin shouted.

"Well, anyway, this is sudden, but I've nominated you for the chuunin exams," Kakashi said.

Sasuke stiffened.

"YOU THINK THAT MAKES UP FOR-"

"Here are your applications," Kakashi showed them the papers in his hand.

"-I LOVE YOU SENSEI!"

"Hey, get off of me"

Kakashi handed them each their applications. Sakura took hers gingerly.

"Whether or not you take the exam is up to you. If you want to take it, sign the application and take it room 301 of the address on there by 4pm tomorrow."

Sasuke looked between the application and his best friend. Naruto was practically shaking with excitement.

"Why?" Sakura asked. "We've only been gennin for a couple of months. Isn't it too soon or something?"

"You all meet the minimum qualifications," Kakashi said. "Besides, even if you fail, it will be good experience for the future. I believe you are ready."

"Of course!" Naruto grinned proudly. "I'm the Yon-"

"-daime's son after all. Yeah, yeah, we know," Sasuke finished.

"Take the rest of the day off to think about it and prepare," Kakashi said.

Sakura looked at her application. Were they really ready? Was she?

"What's wrong?"

Sakura looked up to see Sasuke looking at her.

"Eh?"

"I asked what's wrong," Sasuke repeated irritably.

"It's nothing. It's unusual for you to worry about me," Sakura said with a forced smile.

"Hn."

"Hey, Sasuke! Let's go tell Ita-nii!" Naruto jumped up and down in excitement.

"He's away on a mission," Sasuke sighed.

"Awww. Than let's go celebrate at Ichiraku's!"

"Calm down before you hurt yourself, dobe."

"Wanna come, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"Eh?" Sakura blinked. They never invited her. Naruto smiled at her hopefully while Sasuke eyes his friend suspiciously. Sakura gaped at Naruto for a little bit, not sure how to react. For a reason unknown to herself, joy welled up inside her and she smiled.

"Sure. Why not."

xxx

I doubt there are very many reading these who don't know what Onii-chan means (Onii meaning brother and chan being an endearing honorific), but I think it's worth noting that Onii and Oni are two different words (this is of course the romaji for the characters). Oni means demon. It's pretty funny reading stories or translations online that use Oni-chan/san instead of Onii.

And I don't think I've translated this one yet, so Nami no Kuni means Country of Waves.


	15. Chapter 15

Hello everyone! For anyone who is confused, I sort of condensed the story by putting a lot of the chapters together. There isn't anything really different besides one sentence I added to make it flow a bit better. I did this so it's easier to read than before.

xxx

"Chuunin Exam, Chuunin Exam!" Naruto chanted as they made their way to the academy. "I bet there are going to be a lot of strong guys there, dattebayo!"

"Yeah, and they're all going to kick your ass," Sasuke teased.

"Take that back, teme!"

Sakura trailed behind her teammates. She looked down at the signed application in her hand. Why did she sign this? Why was she even here? She could barely keep up with Naruto and Sasuke, now the Chuunin Exam? Naruto and Sasuke were amazing during their mission in Nami no Kuni, but what did she do? Climb some dumb tree the fastest?

Sasuke watched Sakura out of the corner of his eye. Why was she so quiet? She was walking several meters behind them with her head down. She kept glancing at her application, as if unsure. Sasuke was going to speak up when Naruto began to excitedly announce their arrival.

xxx

"... those that quit being shinobi after taking the exam, those who die in the middle of it; we've seen it all."

Team 7's attention was drawn to the crowd gathered around one of the rooms. They weren't on the third floor yet were they? Sakura looked up at the sign above the door. 301. But they were only on the second floor.

… a genjutsu?

"Chuunins often become captains of military teams. If a comrade dies during the mission, it is their responsibility. Yet you children think you can pass? We're just thinning out the ones who will fail anyway, what's wrong with that?"

"Not that I don't agree with you," Sasuke spoke up. "But would you mind releasing the genjutsu on the door and letting us pass? We're going to the third floor."

All eyes were on them now.

"What's he talking about?"

"Who knows…"

"You noticed," one of the boys blocking the door said.

"Sakura, you probably noticed it first," Sasuke said.

Sakura gave him a grateful smile before turning to face the crowd.

"Of course! This is the second floor after all," Sakura said.

They watched as the genjutsu was released.

"Not bad, but all you did was see through it!"

The boy charged at Sasuke. Sasuke responded quickly, responding to his kick with one of his own. They were interrupted when a green-clad gennin stepped between them and caught their legs mid strike.

"Hey, are you done playing?" a long-haired gennin asked the three of them. Naruto grinned.

"Neji!" Naruto cried.

"I heard they were letting a bunch of rookies in, but I didn't think it would you three," Neji said.

The green-clad gennin released their legs. His attention was focused elsewhere.

"I'm surprised to see you here as well," Sasuke said. "I would have thought that you would have taken the exam already."

"Gai made us wait- Lee, what are you doing?"

Lee took a few steps towards Sakura, blushing slightly. Naruto and Sakura gave him a confused look.

"You're Sakura, right?" he asked. Sakura nodded, a bit unsure.

"My name is Rock Lee!" he grinned. "Go out with me! I'll protect you until I die!"

"No thanks," Sakura said dryly. Lee deflated right before them. Naruto chuckled. He looked over to find his best friend glaring at boy. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Let's go!"  
Sakura dragged her teammates along. Sasuke continued to glare at the green-clad boy until he could no longer turn his head enough around to see him. He looked back over to his female teammate. It seemed her usual confidence was back.

He smiled softly.

Naruto gave his friend a suspicious look.

Sasuke's starting to creep me out, he thought.

xxx

"Please wait!"

The three genin stopped and looked for the source of the voice. As far as they could tell, they were the only ones in the room.

"Over here."

Rock Lee dropped down from the balcony.

"What do you want, dattebayo?" Naruto asked.

"Fight me," he requested.

"Eh?"

"You who carries the symbol of the Uchiha on his back," Lee asked. "Please fight me."

"Here?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," he said. "I am Rock Lee. May I ask your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"It is an honor to meet you. I wish to test my techniques against the offspring of the genius shinobi clan," Lee said.

"Than look elsewhere," Sasuke said darkly.

"Very well," Lee sighed in disappointment. "Though there was another reason I came. Sakura-san?"

"What?" Sakura asked cautiously.

"Will you reconsider going out with me?" he asked.

"It has literally only been five minutes," Sakura said.

"So?"

"No!"

"But-"

"Oi, oi, oi!" Naruto stepped between them. "She said 'No,' already."

"I believe this is between me and Sakura-san. I would appreciate it if you would not intervene," Lee said stubbornly.

"Fine. You want a fight, I'll take you on," Naruto said.

"I am not interested," Lee said. "The one I wish to fight is the Uchiha."

"Uchiha, Uchiha," Naruto growled. "Is that all you people think about?"

"Jealousy is unbecoming," Lee said.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to-"

"Stop," Sasuke intervened. "I'll fight you."

"Don't waste your time on this guy," Naruto said. "I got this."

"This guy is starting to piss me off," Sasuke stated. "If he really wants a fight, I'll give him one."

"Don't Sasuke," Sakura said. "We only have thirty minutes until the meeting."

"I only need five minutes," Sasuke said confidently.

Sakura sighed as Sasuke charged at his opponent.

xxx

I lost… to this idiot?

Lee and his sensei left almost too quickly for them to see. Sakura shook her head.

"Please tell there won't be any more weirdos in this test," Sakura sighed.

"Oh well," Naruto said. "The Uchiha Clan really isn't worth much."

"I'll beat him next time," Sasuke assured him although he didn't sound so convinced.

"Yeah, right. You just got your ass kicked," Naruto said.

"Naruto, don't," Sakura warned him.

"Did you see his hands? He must of trained really hard, every day, more than you," Naruto said. "Being an Uchiha isn't going to be enough to beat someone like that."

Sasuke was tense for a moment while he processed Naruto's words, then he sighed.

"This is getting interesting," Sasuke smiled. "Let's go."

Naruto grinned widely and followed Sasuke out of the room. Sakura watched them for a few moments before following.

Am I really strong enough to keep up with these two? Sakura wondered. Or am I just holding them back?

xxx

Room 301

Team 7 stared in awe at the number of shinobi in the room. Were they all really there to take the exam. Sakura gulped. They all seemed so strong…

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Ack!"

Sasuke failed to escape in time before he was glomped from behind.

"I've missed you, Sasuke-kun!" the blonde girl gushed. "When I heard that you were going to be in the exam I was so excited!"

Sasuke gagged.

"Ino!" Sakura smiled.

"Sakura! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" Ino squealed as she released Sasuke to hug her best friend.

"You are too loud," Shikamaru grumbled.

"Yo!" Naruto greeted Ino's male teammates. Chouji was too into his bag of chips to respond properly but still managed a nod. Shikamaru just yawned.

"N-Naruto. Sasuke."

"Hinata!"

"You're here too?"

Sasuke ruffled the girl's hair.

"S-stop that!" Hinata pulled away.

"Ne, Hinata, that jerk doesn't pick on you does he?" Naruto asked.

"Who's the jerk?"

"You are, dattebayo!"

Naruto glared at Kiba as he approached, Shino following close behind. Naruto reached over and wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulders. Hinata blushed furiously.

"We gotta make sure you haven't been bullying her, dattebayo!"

"I-I-I'm f-fine!" Hinata assured him nervously.

"You sure?" Sasuke asked mischievously. "You're face is all red… you seem really nervous about something…"

"Anyway," Kiba interrupted. "I'm surprised they even let you in. Then again, it probably wasn't all that hard with your dad's help."

"What did you say?" Naruto snapped.

"You guys should be more quiet," a white haired boy interrupted. "You guys are the rookies just out of the academy, right? This isn't a picnic, you know."

"Who do you think you are?" Ino asked.

"I'm Kabuto," he said and smirked.

xxx

Sakura-san's here! Lee smiled.

He watched as his new crush entered the room with her teammates in tow. Lee frowned slightly when he spotted the Uchiha. Objectively, he was an attractive boy. A definite rival, and in Sakura-san's team no less! Lee frowned. Nevermind, he wasn't about to lose!

"That's the Hokage's kid, ain't he?" Ten-ten asked.

"The Hokage's kid? Where?" Lee asked excitedly. The Hokage's son and an Uchiha in the same exam? Two excellent chances for him to test himself.

"His name is Namikaze Naruto," Neji said. "He's blonde boy in Uchiha's Sasuke's team."

Lee looked back over and focused in on the blonde gennin.

Another rival? Lee wondered.

Lee noticed the boy still had an arm draped across another girl's shoulder. Neji's cousin, if he remembered correctly.

Or maybe not.

"Watch out!" Neji cried.

Lee nearly jumped out of his seat but soon realized that Neji's warning wasn't for him. Three shinobi were quickly making their way to the group of rookies at the entrance and judging by their stance and the weapons in their hands, they weren't friendly. Neji lept out of his seat and ran to stop them. Before he could make it anywhere near them, a wall of sand appeared seemingly out of no where, stopping the would be attackers in their tracks.

xxx

Sakura was officially confused. One second they were under attack from the Otogakure shinobi, the next there was a wall of sand separating them.

"Making new enemies, I see," a red-haired boy said as he approached the group. He had a large gourd on his back and the Kanji for Love on his forehead.

"Gaara!" Naruto practically squealed as he finally released Hinata and threw himself at the red-head. Said red-head took a step to the side which sent the blonde crashing to the floor. Sasuke shook his head.

"I see you guys haven't changed," Gaara noted.

"It's only been a couple of months," Sasuke said. Sasuke grimaced. "That means Kankuro and Temari are here to, aren't they?"  
Gaara smirked.

"Scared?" he asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Why'd you do that?" Naruto groaned. He glared at the red-head and he rubbed his red forehead.

"Quiet down, you worthless brats!"

The attention of the entire room was drawn to the group of shinobi that appeared in a cloud of smoke. At the head of the group was a man in a black trench coat and a long scar across his face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I am Morino Ibiki and I am the examiner for the first test."

xxx

Otogakure- Sound Village


	16. Chapter 16

So heads up, I'm going to be condensing the previous chapters to make them easier to read. I'm trying to average out at about 1500 words. I'll delete all the chapters and repost them. It should only be 16 chapters instead of 25 when I'm done. I've already got it set on my computer I just need to get them in doc manager. I'll probably do it tomorrow cause I don't think I'll have time today. There won't be any changes besides a sentence I added to make it flow a bit better.

xxx

"Welcome to the stage for the second test, Practice Area 44, also known as the Shi no Mori."

Sakura was glad she wasn't the only one unnerved. The other Genin around her were whispering to each other and shifting around nervously. Even Naruto wasn't unaffected.

"I need you to sign these Waivers," Anko said. "I'd rather not have it be my responsibility when you die!"

Sakura gulped.

"Now, before I hand theses out, I guess I should tell you about the test," Anko said. "Let's call it a Scroll Battle. You will be given either a Earth or Heaven scroll and placed at different gates around the forest. When the test starts, you will have five days to make it to the tower at the center of the forest with both scrolls."

"Five days, what about dinner!" Chouji cried.

"Find your own," Anko said. "This is a survival test. You will hunt for your own food, find your own shelter and defend yourself from poisonous insects, bloodthirsty animals and other genin. We're passing the waiver out now. When you're done, go to that booth over there to get your scrolls and head to your designated gate."

"This is so creepy," Sakura muttered as she walked away with her waiver.

"Geez, if I had known it was going to be this intense, I never would have agreed to take this dumb exam," Ino groaned.

Sakura fell silent.

"What's up?" Ino asked. "You aren't going to chicken out now, are you?"

Sakura shook her head.

"I can't do that to Naruto and Sasuke," Sakura said.

"This isn't just about them you know," Ino told her. "Hey, look at the lovebirds."

Sakura looked over to where Ino was pointing. Naruto and Hinata were sitting together at the base of a tree. Hinata was blushing slightly as Naruto leaned slightly against her shoulder as they looked over the waiver. It looked as though Hinata was trying to explain something, but Naruto just looked confused.

"They do realise they're basically competing against each other in this test, right?" Ino grumbled

Sakura grinned.

"Jealous?"

"Jealous?" Ino sputtered. "Of them? Why?"

"You tell me," Sakura frowned. "You do realise what you said applies to us too, right?"

Ino stopped and looked down at the waiver. She sighed.

"I really wish I hadn't signed up for this stupid exam."

xxx

"Haven't you two finished signing it yet?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto glared at his best friend.

"Go away, teme," Naruto said.

"Leave them alone, Sasuke," Gaara said and smirked. "They're obviously too busy to bother signing anything."

"You guys wanna fight?" Naruto snapped.

"D-don't, Naruto-kun!" Hinata pleaded. "Y-you'll get in trouble! The examiner's watching…"

Naruto glanced to where Anko was busy stuffing her face with dango. She smiled and waved at the genin.

"She is so creepy, dattebayo," Naruto muttered.

"Not as bad as that guy we ran into at that ramen shop in Suna," Sasuke pointed out. Both Naruto and Gaara grimaced.

"Did you have to mention that?" Naruto groaned.

"I had finally managed to block that particular memory, too," Gaara grumbled.

"What guy?" Hinata asked.

"You don't want to know," Naruto said firmly. "Trust me."

"Naruto! Sasuke! It's almost time to go!" Sakura called.

"Temari is probably looking for me as well," Gaara said. "We should… 'hang out' after the exam."

"Ramen!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. Sasuke groaned and Gaara shook his head.

"Preferably not," Gaara said.

Naruto pouted.

"W-we could always go. M-maybe sometime this week?" Hinata suggested.

Naruto grinned.

"See ya later, Hinata! I gonna kick your ass in the exam, Gaara!"

Naruto ran to where Sakura was waiting.

"Thank you," Sasuke said. "Sincerly."

"You have my thanks as well," Gaara agreed.

"I HEARD THAT, DATTEBAYO!"

xxx

"The second test of the Chuunin Exams begins now!"

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed as the gate swung open before them. "Let's go!"

"We should start heading for the tower," Sakura suggested. "Get a head start. Then we can set traps or something."

"Sounds like a good plan," Sasuke agreed.

"Sounds boring, dattebayo," Naruto grumbled.

Sakura was about to respond when a scream of terror rang through the air. The gennin fell silent as they observed their surrounding for a potential threat.

"That was a human scream, right?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke nodded.

"I'm sure it was nothing," Naruto said nervously. "I gotta pee."

"I told you to go before," Sasuke sighed.

"'I told you to go before,'" Naruto said mockingly as he made his way into the bushes.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

xxx

"I can't believe you let yourself get caught like that!"

"Shut up!"

"We should come up with a code or something," Sakura suggested.

"Why? Naruto would just forget it," Sasuke pointed out.

"I said, 'shut up,' teme!"

 _Not that we'd have to worry about Naruto,_ Sakura thought. She remembered how quickly Sasuke had seen through the shinobi's disguise. _There's no way he'd ever be tricked by a fake Naruto._

"Ow!"

"What now, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto touched his cheek gingerly and hissed. He pulled his hand away and looked down at the blood smeared on his finger tips.

"What-"

Before Naruto could finish his question, they were hit by a gust of wind so powerful that it sent them flying off their feet. Sakura managed to take cover behind a tree. She shut her eyes and covered her head until the wind finally subsided. She cautiously stood and peered out to find her attackers.

"Oi!"

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin. She drew a Kunai and prepared for herself for an attack. He relaxed for a second when she saw Naruto.

"Are you okay-"

"Stay back!" Sakura warned.

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

"How do I know it's really you?" Sakura asked.

"Come on! Do you really think I would get myself caught twice?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"...Should I answer that honestly?" Sakura replied.

"Very funny," Naruto scoffed. He moved to stick his hands in his pockets.

"Hands were I can see them!" Sakura snapped.

"Geez. Can we just go find Sasuke already? I'm starting to get bored," Naruto said irritably.

Sakura watched him closely. There was something wrong with Naruto, she just didn't know what. But how to confirm it… Sakura lowered her kunai.

"Maybe we should… Don't want him getting himself hurt again like in Umi no Kuni," Sakura said in an exasperated tone.

"I know right?" Naruto laughed. "Not that we have to worry about Sasu-"

Sakura threw the kunai at the fake Naruto and ran. She didn't bother trying to look behind her. When she was certain she'd gotten far enough away, she climbed up a large tree and hid on one of the massive branches. She fought to keep her breath under control as she listened for followers. All appeared to be silent beyond the sounds of the forest.

She felt a presence. She shifted into a defensive position. She relaxed when she saw Sasuke cautiously come out of the bushes. She took a breath and leapt down next to him. Sasuke jumped and nearly attacked her. Sakura warned him to stay silent before he could make a sound.

"How did you know I was a fake?" Naruto's voice asked.

Sakura whipped around to find the fake Naruto grinning at them with an inhuman smile.

"Sasuke nearly died then," Sakura said as she fought the quiver in her voice. "He would never laugh about it."

Sakura didn't even notice Sasuke move until he was between her and the fake.

"I see," the fake chuckled. "It seems that it was foolish to try to fool a team who seems to know each other so well."

The fake dispelled the technique. The user was a tall young man with long black hair wearing a kasa.

"Though a password wasn't that bad of an idea," the young man said.

"Where is Naruto?" Sasuke demanded.

"My… friend should be keeping him entertained," the man grinned. "Now, shall we begin? I'm looking forward to killing you both."

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat as the intense atmosphere froze him in place. With a single glance, both he and Sakura were caught in the throes of a terror so great, he almost wished someone would kill him and get it over with.

 _They were going to die._

The thought seemed to permeate every cell in his body and leave him nothing more than a quivering mess.

 _They were going to die._

 _They were all going to die._

Sasuke glanced over to Sakura, who had collapsed under the pressure.

 _Sakura was going to die._

 _Than Naruto would be next._

The last two thoughts froze him on the spot. His team… his friends were going to die. They were going to die because he was too weak to protect them.

 _Move._

He fought the terror with all of his strength.

 _Move._

He promised he would never watch his friends in pain again.

 _Move._

He reached for his kunai holder. Just a little more…

 _Move!_

xxx

kasa- a japanese hat. You know, the straw ones you always see the samurai wear.


	17. Chapter 17

Orochimaru watched was his two kunai were lodged into the tree that was behind their intended targets. He watched in amusement as the Uchiha carried the petrified girl away to safety. Even as he ran, Orochimaru could catch a glimpse of the kunai in the boy's leg and the blood staining his white shorts.

Orochimaru grinned.

 _It seems the younger brother is more interesting than I thought he would be,_ Orochimaru thought.

xxx

 _Who was that?_ Sakura thought as she and Sasuke fought to catch their breath. Sasuke pulled the kunai from his leg without even wincing. Sakura looked over at her teammate. He looked about how she felt. His eyes were wide and terrified and his breathing was labored. His eyes kept shifting around and looking for any sign of a threat.

"Hey are you alright-" Sakura froze when something caught the corner of her eye. "Watch out!"

Sakura pushed Sasuke off the branch before jumping out of the way herself. Sasuke managed to land on nearby branch. He turned in time to see the snake barreling at him. A familiar feeling of dread filled him.

He screamed.

"Stay away!" he yelled as he quickly grabbed whatever was in his pocket- nor caring if it was kunai or shuriken- and throwing it at the snake. The naked hissed in anger as it fell and landed on a large branch with a loud thump. Sasuke gasped for air and watched as the snake fell still. Sasuke took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but he couldn't. Something was wrong. They were still being hunted, He knew it.

"You shouldn't relax even for a moment."

The breath caught in Sasuke's throat as he watched their hunter emerge from the snake they had just killed.

"Prey should try their best to run away in the face of a predator."

Sasuke watched in horror as the boy took off. His body stretched into that of a snakes as he wound himself up the tree and made his way towards his target. He could hear Sakura calling his name and see her running towards him in the corner of his eye. Sasuke himself was frozen in place. He begged himself to move- to do _something_ \- but his body wouldn't obey.

Everything stopped when the kunai flew past the boy's head, barely missing it's target.

"Oi, oi, oi! Who the hell is this creep?" Naruto asked.

"Run!" Sasuke screamed. "Forget about us and run!"

"Looks like you managed to escape the snake, Naruto-kun," the snake-boy said.

Naruto looked over at his friend. He hadn't seen his friend that scared since… in a very long time. He glared back at the boy.

"You stay away from my friends, dattebayo!"

 _This is bad. This is really bad._ Sasuke's mind was reeling. _We have to get out of here. We have to get out now!_

"I'll give you the scroll! Sasuke blurted out. "Just take it and leave!"

"What the hell are you doing, teme?" Naruto yelled at his friend.

"I see," the boy smirked. "The only way to escape a predator is to offer it another meal."

Naruto responded immediately. Sasuke tossed the scroll to the boy. Naruto grabbed the scroll midair. He landed next to an enraged Sasuke.

"The hell are you doing dobe-!"

Sasuke was caught off guard when Naruto stroke. HIs friend his him hard enough that Sasuke was forced to jump to keep was from falling to the forest floor. He landed on the nearest branch and turned to glare at Naruto.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded,

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Sasuke snapped.

"There is no way the coward in front of me is the real Sasuke," Naruto said. "I don't know who this guy is, but for all we know, he might not even let us go even if we give him the damn scroll!"

"My, my, you are smarter than I expected you to be," the by chuckled. "You are absolutely correct. Especially since I can just kill you and take the scroll anyway."

The boy bit his thumb and smeared the blood in a line down the seal on his arm.

"Like I'm going to let that happen!" Naruto yelled as he charged.

"Stop! Naruto!"

 _Kuchiyose no Jutsu!_

A snake appeared in a puff of chakra. The snake struck and Naruto was sent crashing upwards. Several branches broke as Naruto hit them until he finally stopped when he hit a sturdy branch that refused to break. Sasuke's heart stopped for a moment when Naruto coughed up blood. Naruto began to fall back down towards the ground.

"Eat him."

Naruto wasn't moving. Sasuke watched in horror as Naruto made no effort to avoid the snake's mouth. He was aware of Sakura's cry as she tried to make her way over to save their friend, but Sasuke knew it was futile. There was no way either of them would make it in time. There was nothing they could do. They were useless.

 _Powerless._

" _ **Screw you!"**_

It happened so fast Sasuke didn't even see it until Naruto planted his heel on the Snake's head. Their enemy, however, didn't miss a beat. Before Naruto could make another move, he was hit with a Gokakyu and sent crashing into a tree.

"You're turn, Sasuke-kun," the boy chuckled as the snake turned and charged at him. "What are you going to do now?"

They never got to find out. The snake was stopped before it could reach his target. Naruto held the snake back, assisted by a kunai in each hand. Sakura watched in confusion. Since when was Naruto this strong?

"Are you hurt?" Naruto asked as he finally raised his head to look at Sasuke. "Scaredy-cat?"

Sasuke eyes widened as he looked into his friend's eyes. Only they weren't his friend's eyes anymore. They were bright red and his pupils slit. Understanding finally hit Sasuke like a punch in the gut. This… this wasn't Naruto's chakra. This was the Kyuubi's!

Neither of them noticed the tongue weaving itself around Naruto's body until it tightened its grip around him and lifted him into the air. Their enemy brought Naruto up until their noses were barely and inch apart. Normally Naruto would have gagged at even the thought of this creep touching him with his tongue, let alone _picking him up_ with it, but that that moment, Naruto didn't care. He was too filled with rage that entirely his own to care about anything besides destroying his enemy. The small voice in the back of his head that screamed ' _protect my friends!'_ seemed to be the only thing that could cut through it at all.

"So, the Kyuubi's host is still alive."

Some part of Naruto's mind registered this as a surprise.

"So you can access the Kyuubi's chakra when you're emotions are heightened… Interesting." His tongue reached down to lift the bottom of Naruto's shirt, revealing the Kyuubi's seal, visible on Naruto's stomach. "But unfortunately, I don't have time to play with you."

 _ **Gogyo Fuin!**_

Naruto's mouth widened as if to scream, but no sound came out as their enemy shoved his hand into his stomach, his fingers burning into his skin. Naruto fell limp in the snake's grasp. The boy reached into Naruto's pouch and took the scroll before tossing Naruto aside to fall to his death. Sakura reacted quickly. She threw a kunai that snagged Naruto's jacket and pinned him to a tree.

 _He's not moving,_ Sasuke thought as panic clouded his mind. _He's not moving. He's dead. I'm too weak. There's nothing I could have done. NarutoisdeadNarutoisdeadNarutoisdeadNarutoisdeadNaruto is-_

Suddenly, Sasuke found that Naruto was no longer in his view. He blinked. His cheek began to sting as though someone had slapped. He turned his head back around to see Sakura, her emerald eyes burning with anger.

"What the hell are you doing?" she snapped. Sasuke merely looked back at her, dumbfounded. "You're seriously going to just stand there and watch your best friend get killed? I thought you were better than that!"

"He's too strong. We can't beat him. I'm too weak" Sasuke said with a small voice. He sounded dazed and lost. Any other time, Sakura would have taken pity on him, but there was no time for that now.

"Than we don't. We get Naruto and we get out of here! Forget the scroll, we'll find another one," Sakura said. "But I need you're help. One of us needs to distract Orochimaru while the other grabs Naruto."

Sakura paused before continuing.

"I… We both know I'm too… too weak to distract him more than a second," the words felt like bile on her tongue. "So it has to be you. Just long enough for me to get Naruto. I… _We need you._ "

Sasuke bowed his head. For a moment, Sakura feared that Sasuke was too far gone in his own mind to snap out of it, but then Sasuke looked back up. His sharingan burned brightly in his eyes with determination.

"I may only be able to buy you a minute," Sasuke said. "Take Naruto and go. I'll follow as soon as I can get away."

Sakura gave him a soft smile before they turned to face their enemy. He just stood there attop his snake, watching them. Alarm bells went off in Sakura's head. Something was wrong. Why hasn't he attacked them already? They were distracted and it was the perfect chance to strike, so why didn't he?

"Go!"

The genin separated. Sakura watched out of the corner of her eye as the boy sent his summon away. Why? That didn't make any sense. Sakura jumped and focused on the chakra on her feet. She landed just above Naruto, standing sideways on the tree. She sighed in relief when her feet held.

This was the tricky part. He dropped to her knees and grabbed hold of Naruto with one hand and the kunai with the other. She had to be quick. She couldn't hold Naruto with one hand for long. She took a breath before dislodging the kunai. She quickly dropped it and grabbed hold of Naruto with both hands before she felt his full weight. She slid down almost a foot before she could regain her footing. She grunted as she pulled his back up to get a better hold. She jumped to a nearby branch before she finally collapsed under Naruto's weight.

 _How was she going to carry him out of here in time?_

She looked over in time to see the boy extend his neck out sink his teeth into Sasuke's nape. The boy pulled back and Sasuke sat there frozen in place. Then he let out a scream of pain like Sakura had never heard before. Without thinking, Sakura ran over to her teammates side. Sasuke was doubled over in pain and his screams of pain were only growing in intensity. Sakura looked over to their enemy and froze. Half his face seemed to be melted off, to reveal a paler face underneath and a snake-like, yellow eye.

"Who the hell are you?" Sakura demanded.

"My name is Orochimaru," he said. "If you want to see me again, survive this exam."

"Why would we want anything to do with you?" Sakura snapped.

"Sasuke will seek me out," Orochimaru said, as he seemed to sink into the tree. "He will seek me for power."

With that, he was gone.

xxx

Gogyo Fuin- Five Element Seal


	18. Chapter 18

Carrying two unconscious boys from the treetops safely to a safe place on the ground sounds hard enough, but was even harder in reality. As a Kunoichi, Sakura may have been stronger than any average girl, but she was by no means super-human. She had no clue how long it took her to get them down, but she knows that when it started it was dark out and light when she finished. When she was done with this exam, she was going to have to work on her strength training more.

Sakura didn't allow herself to finally rest until she had her teammates as comfortable as she could given the situation. Sasuke was still groaning in pain, but at least the screaming has stopped. His skin was flushed and he burned with fever. Sakura carefully laid the wet rag she had prepared onto his forehead. Why did this have to happen now, with no help anywhere in sight? It would take her hours to with to the gate to get help and she couldn't leave them for that long.

Sakura shook her head. There was no time for that! It was her turn to protect them. At least until Naruto woke up and could help her get Sasuke medical help. For now, she was on her own.

A nose caught her attention. She drew her kunai and slowly peered over her shoulder, fully expecting to be met by the enemy. She sighed in relief when all she saw was a squirrel.

"You scared me," Sakura muttered. The squirrel continued to move towards her and Sakura wondered if it even knew she was there.

 _Crap!_ Sakura thought as it drew closer to the trap she has set. She threw her kunai at the squirrel. It landed just before it and stopped it in it's tracks. The squirrel chattered angrily before turning and taking off back into the underbrush. Sakura sighed and looked up. The sun had risen and it looked like it was about mid-morning. A full day gone, four more to go.

"You look like you've been up all night."

Sakura's heart stopped. She looked back down to find the three Otogakure gennin.

"That is no longer necessary. Please wake up Sasuke-kun. We want to fight him," the one with bandages covering his face said.

"I won't let you anywhere near him!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Fine, then we'll just kill you, then wake him up ourselves," the gennin with the kanji for death on his shirt said. He started to step forward, but his male teammate stopped him.

"Wait, Zaku," he said. "You're not very good. The recently upturned stone, different colored dirt, plus it appears grass doesn't even grow here. A trap doesn't do you any good if it's noticeable."

"So that kunai was to keep the squirrel from falling into the trap. How stupid," Zaku said.

"Well, since we have no use for this girl, let's kill her."

The Otogakure shinobi attacked. Sakura smirked. She reached behind her with her kunai and cut the line holding her real trap in place. The log came barreling at them.

"A trap from above? Oh no!" the bandaged boy said mockingly. "As if."

He touched the log and it shattered. Sakura watched in shock and horror. How the hell did he do that?

"Frankly speaking, you have no talent!" the boy exclaimed as they approached. "People like you should work harder. You shouldn't mess with guys like us-!"

 _ **Konoha Senpu!**_

Lee came out of nowhere. With one hit, he sent all three of the Otogakure shinobi to the ground. They recovered quickly, however, and put a safe distance between them and their new attacker.

"Than you guys should also work harder," Lee said confidently.

"Who are you?" the Otogakure boy asked.

"The beautiful green beast of Konohagakure: Rock Lee!" he introduced. Sakura was too tired and relieved to have someone help to even care about about the ridiculous way Lee had introduced himself.

"Why are you hear?" Sakura asked.

"I will always be there when you are in trouble," Lee promised. _Though it's actually thanks to you,_ he silently thanked the squirrel as it crawled down his arm and ran into the bushes.

"Thank you… for saving me," Sakura said.

"I told you before, didn't I?" Lee said. "I will protect you until I die."

Sakura watched stared at his back for a few moments, dumbfounded. Why would he go so far for a girl he just met? She smiled softly.

 _What a weird guy, just like Naruto,_ Sakura thought. _Thank you._

"Zaku, go for Sasuke-kun," the bandaged gennin said. "I'll take care of this guy."

The gennin charged. Sakura was quick to throw a kunai at his feet to slow him own. Taking advantage of the distraction, Lee punched into the ground and pulled a root out of the ground. It slowed his opponent down further and gave him enough time to prepare his next attack. He undid the tape holding his bandaged in place and charged his opponent. Lee dropped down and kicked upwards, hitting the Otogakure genin in the chin with enough force to send him flying into the air. Lee jumped up behind him, almost too quickly for the eye to follow. The bandages encased the gennin and Lee flipped them upside down.

"He can't protect himself like that!" Zaku exclaimed. He shoved his hands into the ground, hoping he'd made it in time.

 _ **Omote Renge!**_

Lee smashed the Otogakure gennin into the ground head first and jumped back. He flicked his attention to the other gennin, but looked back in time to see his supposedly beaten enemy climb back to his feet shakily. There was a mound of dirt that hadn't been there previously that must have cushioned the blow. But how…?

"What a terrifying technique to inflict this much damage even on a sponge of dirt," he remarked. "Now it's my turn."

 _Dammit!_ Lee cursed to himself. _My body is too worn out from the Omote Renge!_

Lee dodged his first attack. He blinked when his vision became warped and he found himself unsteady on his feet.

"Wh-what did you… do?" Lee asked. He sounded nauseous and he almost lost his balance.

"Not even you are faster than the speed of sound," he said. "I'll show you the talent that not even hard work can overcome"

Sakura watched as Lee vomited. She wanted to try to run and help him, but didn't want to leave her teammates unprotected. Lee felt something trickling from his ear. He reached a hand up to see what it was. He didn't even have to look at it to tell that it was blood.

"There's a little trick here," the otogakure shinobi said. "You can't just dodge my attacks. It's sound. Even if I miss, the sound will attack you."

"Sound? But how..?" Lee asked. His voice was weak and strained.

"Do you know what sound actually is?" the otogakure gennin asked.

"Vibration," Sakura answered.

"That's right," he replied in a condescending tone. "My attack uses vibrations to attack your inner ear drum and destroys your balance. You won't be moving for a while."

"Not that attacks like yours are of any use against us anyhow," Zaku laughed. He pointed his hand out to show them the hole in the middle of it. "His ability to control sound and my ability to control air pressure… a mere taijutsu user like you stands no chance!"

"Oi, Dosu! Are you done playing around?" the girl demanded. "I'm getting bored here!"

"Very well, then," Dosu said before he attacked. He ran past Lee and went straight for Sakura. Sakura drew her kunai and prepared to defend herself. Neither of them were paying attention to Lee so they didn't see him until he was right between them.

 _ **Konoha Senpu!**_

However, Lee was too weak from Dosu's attack to connect the kick. Dosu easily dodged and counterattacked. Lee blocked the attack successfully, but it was meaningless against the sound. He finally collapsed; there was too much damage for him to be able to stand anymore.

"Let's finish this," Dosu said.

"I won't let you!" Sakura cried as she attacked with the kunai in her hand. Dosu easily blocked them with the metal contraption on his arm. Sakura quickly threw the shuriken in her other hand before Dosu has the chance to recover, but Zaku was ready. He blocked the shuriken easily, blasting them back at Sakura. Sakura covered her face with her hands and managed to get away with only a few scratches. Before she could recover, she felt a hand grip her hair hard enough to tear a few strands from her scalp.

"This bitch is starting to annoy me!" the female shinobi said as she wrenched Sakura's head side to side. "Kill that Sasuke guy in front of her! That'll teach her!"

Sakura tried to pull herself free. When that didn't work, she drew a kunai and tried to attack the kunoichi's hand, but the sound kunoichi easily ripped it from her hands.

"I'd stop struggling so much. It's not like you can escape anyway!" the kunoichi laughed. As she struggled, Zaku drew closer to her teammates. He took his time so he could prolong Sakura's suffering.

 _Why am I so weak? No matter what I do, I always end just getting in the way!_ Sakura cursed herself. _Why? Why? Why? I was going to be the one to protect them this time!_

Sakura pulled another kunai from her pouch.

"Not this again!" the kunoichi scoffed.

Sakura smirked.

Sakura lashed out and the kunoichi reacted. However, she failed to predict where she was aiming. Sakura ignored her hand and went straight for her hair. She severed the only hold the kunoichi had on her and moved beyond her reach.

 _I won't be in the way this time. This time, I will protect them!_

xxx

Konoha Senpu- Konoha/Leaf Whirlwind

Omote Renge- Initial Lotus/ Front Lotus depending on translation


	19. Chapter 19

I am posting this to let everyone know that I am considering rewriting this story from scratch. I went through and reread everything I have posted to this point, and I'm not very happy with it. I think there are a lot of flaws with bad choices I've made in regards to the plot and interactions between the characters that could end up sabotaging what I have planned in the long run.

I did write a new first chapter and I already like it better than what I originally had. I will leave this up for the time being and I will work on new chapters until I've officially made my decision. I would like to know what you, the readers, think! Either leave a review or PM me to share your thoughts.


	20. Chapter 20

Here's a preview of the rewrite! The first chapter is going to be longer than what the norm will be which is half the reason it's taking me a while to get it done. It's already 6 pages long and I'm only about half way through, which is a lot for me!

In the mean time, here's the first page and a half!

xxx

 **Years ago, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village of Konoha. It's mighty tails could crumble mountains and cause tsunamis. To fight the kyuubi all the shinobi from the village came to fight it. One brave shinobi was able to seal the fox away at the cost of his own life. This shinobi was the Sandaime Hokage.**

xxx

"Hokage-sama!"

The blonde man set his pen down and sighed. The man was in his early forties with spiky hair that framed his face and blue eyes. He was wearing a simple navy turtle-neck and matching pants. He had a long white, sleeved cloak laying on the back of his chair and his hitai-ate was neatly folded next to him on the desk.

A relatively young chuunin barged into the room before standing at attention.

"What did they do?" the Hokage asked.

"They've vandalized the Hokage Monument!"

"Seriously, those two..." he said as he stood. "I'll take care of it."

xxx

"Where'd they go?"

"We lost them!"

"Let's try over here!"

The two boys sighed in relief from where they hid in the alley. The taller boy slid to the ground in exhaustion. The didn't seem to be doing much better. Both were breathing heavily and covered in paint and sweat. The shorter of the two boys had golden, spiky hair and bright blue eyes. His skin was slightly tanned and he had three marks on each cheek like whiskers.

The taller boy seemed to be the complete opposite. He had black hair, onyx eyes and pale skin. His hair was spiked in the back and parted in the front so his bangs fell on either side of his face and reached his cheeks. Both boys were wearing paint stained, white shirts but the blonde was wearing orange, baggy pants while the other wore navy cargo shorts. The taller also had his arms covered with white warmers fringed with blue.

"This is the worst idea we've ever had," the taller boy said despite the smile on his face.

"I thought the one we pulled in Suna was the worst idea we've ever had," the shorter replied.

"Yeah, you're right. This is the second worst idea we've ever had," the taller corrected.

"Let's get out of here before-"

"Before what?" a voice asked calmly from above.

The two boys looked up to see the Hokage standing on the edge of the roof. In a flash, the man was before them with his arms crossed and a disapproving look.

"Uh... hey, otou-san," Naruto greeted with a nervous smile.

"You two come with me," the Hokage ordered.

"Well, that's- I mean- my father's waiting for me..." Sasuke said as he stood.

"There's no need to worry," a deep voice interrupted. At the entrance to the alley was another man about the same age as the Hokage. He looked like an older Sasuke, except the spikes plus he was a lot broader in the face. He wore a dark blue yukata with the Uchiha crest on the back.

"C-chichiue!" the taller boy stuttered. He had someone gotten paler than he already was.

"I better not see you again until the mountain is clean," the man said before walking away. The taller boy looked down in shame.

"Sounds like a good idea," the Hokage mused. "Naruto! Sasuke! I want you two to scrub every bit of paint off the Mountain after class!"

Naruto groaned.

"Maybe you should think before you pull a prank next time," the Hokage said. "I'll be sending Iruka to monitor you. Now, get back to the academy."

"Told you it was a bad idea," Sasuke hissed.

Naruto responded by jabbing in the side with his elbow.

"Hey!"


	21. Chapter 21

The rewrite is up! It is under the title Namikaze.


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